He Will Surely Save
by revvangrey
Summary: When all hope seems lost, call out to him. He will surely save you. (Chap. 6 commentary added)
1. Call Out His Name

**He will surely save**

**I do not own the RAILDEX universe **

It was a good day. The spiky-haired young man walked cautiously with a rare prize: his precious source of protein had been on sale at his favorite store. Buy one get one free, no limits!

A rare opportunity like this was not to be passed up and our familiar hero is now burdened by four dozen eggs, walking with the precision of a surgeon in the direction of his dorm and the freeloaders therein. He briefly wondered if the bounty he was carrying would counteract the consequence of him being an hour or so later than he had promised earlier.

"I wonder if putting pepper in my hair would do anything?" Kamijo Touma muttered to himself as he furtively glanced around each corner before continuing on his way.

"I'd probably just end up being bitten everywhere else. The reaction before the fallout would probably be worth it, though . . ."

The small smile that crossed his face at the thought was lost when a loud cry floated out from an alley up ahead

"Help me, rhinoceros beetle!"

Touma felt the blood drain from his face. "You have got to be kidding me . . ."

"Please . . . Please save my friend . . ."

Touma glanced at the bags hanging down from his tightly clenched fists.

"Two for one. . . Two for one. . ." He wasn't fooling anyone. Finally he sighed and raced to the mouth of the alley as carefully as he could "Such misfortune . . . "

* * *

The thugs could only look at the black haired middle school girl before them with a mixture of confusion and amusement. This was echoed by the flowery member of Judgment currently held at knife-point by those same thugs.

The thug holding Uiharu's wrist looked over to where Saten had been knocked down moments before and addressed her directly.

"I don't know what you thought _that_ was going to accomplish, but you're wasting your time"

He gestured with his head at the rough looking girl standing behind him.

"Myuri-chan here is a level three."

The rough looking girl crossed her arms over her chest and sent Saten a cold grin. "My power is called 'First Priority'"

Saten could almost feel the cruel mirth in that voice as she continued. "It causes people to focus on their first instincts when confronted with a novel situation"

The girl leaned forward, her voice dripping with a patronizing tone "Now who would run into a dark alley to meet with certain danger for someone they don't even know?"

"**Oi**!"

All attention turned to the mouth of the alley where that commanding call to attention was issued. They were greeted with the sight of a young man with spiky black hair and an intense expression that held an untold determination to beat all odds that life would throw at him.

Unfortunately, this was rendered almost comical when paired with the sight of being weighted down by a pair of grocery bags, leading many present to picture an irate housewife yelling at children in her garden. Touma, though, was undeterred and stepped further into the alley.

"You ought to be ashamed of yourselves. These girls are in middle school."

Ignoring Myuri-chan's look of shock, the leader once again spoke up. "I don't know what your problem is, but our beef is with Judgment girl here" He tugged a Uiharu's wrist and gestured with the knife in the other hand. "Since I'm feeling charitable today, We'll let you and beetle-girl turn around and leave. We can all pretend you were never here."

Saten slowly stood up from where she had fallen and finally found her voice. It was quiet but clear. "I won't let you hurt my friend."

"And I don't need a reason to help someone" Touma stated and narrowed his eyes. "Let the girl go and run away now before things get ugly for you."

That was too much. The thugs began to break out in laughter while their leader grinned and chuckled. "What kind of threat is that? Are you going to egg us to death or something?"

Touma's voice was grim when he spoke "It's not a threat, it's a warning. Your time is running out. You are not going to hurt that girl"

"Oh? And who is going to stop us?"

Touma said nothing, but tilted his chin in defiance and stared past the thugs deeper into the alley. One after another, they became aware of the sound of quiet footsteps approaching from the darkness.

Uiharu was the first to react.

"AHH!"

With a strength that surprised even her, she wrenched her arm from the leader's grasp and threw herself backwards, hitting the wall and landing on the ground. Her wide eyes filling with terror and the beginning of tears. Before had simply been scary, this was a nightmare.

All turned to see the boy appearing from the shadows. A voice in their heads was calling his appearance beautiful. Another, much louder voice, was requesting a change of pants. Ghastly white skin and glowing green eyes casting an eerie light around him. A wry grin formed from a black slit of a mouth twitched briefly before he spoke.

"So tell me. Who was it that called for me?"

At that, Saten's eyes rolled into her head and she fell backwards without a sound. Falling hard on the ground in a dead faint.

Uiharu and Touma immediately cried out in fear for her safety.

"Saten-san!"

"Miss!"

The eyes of the thugs on the other hand didn't leave the demon in front of them. The white boy began to chuckle louder and louder, his crooked grin continuing to widen until at last he spoke.

"I'm feeling whimsical today. What say we do this by order of height?"

With that, six white wings erupted from the boy's back with a deafening roar that shook nearly everyone to the ground. The wings extended and ripped into the masonry walls like a child's fingers through the side of a sandcastle, their tips extending above the rooftops.

At this point though, the alley had cleared but for the victim and the heroes. Touma and the Seraph still standing and the girls shaken on the ground. The voice of the thug's leader could be heard trailing off into the distance.

"Move faster or get out of the way!"

Touma shook his head and slowly walked over to where Saten had fallen. "Personally, I think you overdid it." he muttered mostly to himself.

He crouched down and checked to see that she was still okay. "She's fine, just unconscious. I don't think she got trampled either."

"Glad to hear it" the white boy replied, his wings gradually shrinking into nothingness. He looked down at the girl staring up at him paralyzed in absolute terror and began to reach out his hand.

"AAHH!"

Uiharu screamed and scuttled backwards on the ground until reaching Touma and Saten. She twisted around and buried her face in Touma's chest, her fearful tears soaking into his shirt.

Touma tried to sooth the sobbing girl. "It's okay miss, Beetle-san won't hurt you"

The white boy's face twitched slightly. "What is it with you and those names, Kamijo-san?" He muttered to himself. Uiharu had gotten a better grip on herself and finally opened her eyes to look at him.

"I don't blame her for a second. I . . . wasn't at my best when we last met . . ." He trailed off, a sad look coming over his face. Uiharu flinched when he stepped closer and knelt down in front of her, only for her eyes to widen in shock as he prostrated himself before her. Without removing his forehead from the ground he spoke to her in a quiet voice.

"I have no right to ask you to forgive me for what I did"

He lifted himself up to look her in the eyes. "But please know that people can change. I am not the same man that I was back then"

He paused briefly and extended his hand towards her. It was only the spiky haired boy's hands on her shoulders that kept Uiharu from trembling.

"I am Kakine Teitoku" His hand hovered just inside her arms' reach. If she didn't know better she would have sworn she saw a tear forming in one of his green eyes.

"I promise you this" His tone was serious and drawn. "From this day on, I will _never_ let anyone hurt you again."

As he spoke these final words, his body seemed to dissolve into smoke-like ribbons and in seconds he was gone. All but for a tiny white beetle which hovered where his outstretched hand had been a moment before. It silently swooped down and settled on the back of Uiharu's hand. She blinked, not sure what to make of it.

Touma smiled and spoke in an encouraging way

"I think you should keep it. He sounded serious to me. . ."

* * *

With the ordeal now over, the trio set out towards their respective dorms. Or at least they would have if they could wake up Saten. . .

". . . Don't wanna go to school . . ." she moaned when Uiharu poked her.

Uiharu briefly considered calling her friend Kuroko to teleport Saten back to her dorm but stopped when she realized that Tokiwadai's curfew started in less than ten minutes.

"I guess I'll just have to carry her back"

"Are you sure you want to do that? I'd be happy to help. It's too late to save my head now anyway."

Uiharu wasn't quite sure what to make of that statement.

"No that's fine. I should be able to make it . . . um . . ."

"Touma. Kamijo Touma" Touma said as he helped pick up the sleeping Saten.

"I'm Uiharu and this is Saten. Your name seems familiar somehow. Are you Famous?"

"I hope not" Touma smiled and handed Saten to her friend. Unfortunately, Uiharu had overestimated her ability to carry a person and toppled over, Saten landing on top of her with a crash. Still not awake!

Touma chuckled and, after picking Saten up, gently placed her on his back.

"I'll carry her. Which way is the dorm?" Uihari named the location and Touma felt relieved that it was on the way to his own dorm.

They started off together with Saten on Touma's back and Uihari slowly walking beside him carrying Touma's groceries. Not one egg had been broken. It was a good day.

Uiharu had been quiet for some time and Touma glanced over to see if she was still troubled. He saw her glancing repeatedly at the small while beetle clipped to the corner of her pocket and spoke up.

"You probably won't want to change clothes with that in the room . . ."

The white beetle shuddered a little.

"Not that I am implying anything, Beetle-san . . . "

Uiharu looked up at Touma.

"It seemed like the two of you knew each other. . ."

"The two of us worked together to save the life of a young girl not long ago. . ."

Uihari looked down at the beetle in surprise.

". . . Really?"

Touma smiled and, amused by her reaction, confirmed that this was true . Uiharu suddenly looked up.

"Ah, Kamijo-san"

"Yes?"

"Can we exchange numbers? I think my other friends would enjoy meeting you and Saten-san would want to thank you in person for your help . . ."

Touma paused for a moment. He finally shrugged and got out his phone, careful to not dislodge his passenger.

"I can't foresee any problems with that. This Kamijo Touma would be happy to meet your friends."

"Great!"

The pair exchanged numbers and continued on in a comfortable semi-silence. Touma listened to Uiharu's quiet tuneless humming and began to think about his next move after dropping off the sleepy girl who has been alternately drooling on and nuzzling him for the past ten minutes. His thoughts turned immediately to his apartment and the occupants currently within.

"Say Uiharu-san, You don't happen to have any extra pepper at your dorm do you . . . ?"

* * *

Author note:

Hello all, as a long time reader and first time ficcer I hope you enjoyed this little excursion. You may remember the title as from the ending radio broadcast from NT 5. I recall it sent shivers down my spine in reading it and I can't believe it had yet to appear in a Fic. I think we all agree that if anyone would yell out for the rhinoceros beetle it would be Saten.

Extra points if you know the original source of the leader's final words.

Now lets get those juices flowing!

EDIT: I had originally intended this to be a oneshot, but shortly after posting it I realized that I really wanted to see how the Meeting with Mikoto would turn out. I do have a few ideas that have come up in the mean time and I have started writing them down. We should probably consider this story to be a series of loosely connected vignettes as opposed to a truely connected story.

I also edited the text to rectify the fact that Saten and Uiharu do not share a room. I had forgotten this until recently. I am still assuming that their dorms are near each other, though.

I would like to thank all those who took the time to read, follow, favor, and especially review this work. It played a part in my decision to expand the concept.

To answer Saten's review: I had heard that Touma and Saten met, but I only have railgun manga knowledge up to 10032's capture. I'm going to say that in this part Saten is first distracted and then unconscious, and so cannot comment on knowing him yet. Considering Touma's track record, I'm going to say that He can't remember Saten's name. I plan to read the rest of the railgun manga before posting the second part. That should bring us closer to canon.


	2. On Seraphs' Wings

**He will surely save, part 2: On Seraphs' wings**

**I do not own the RAILDEX universe.**

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Authors notes:

Greetings all readers! I hope that you will find that my decision to expand 'He will Surely Save' from a one shot to a multi-part work was a good one.

This work is focused on the friendships between the characters, with just a subtle dash of humor thrown in for good measure. As such it will not be action oriented. Also, since the Railgun Manga is in the middle of it's climax, references to it will be subtle. The light novels will be considered primary canon.

Once again I would like to thank all those who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story. I agree fully that the meeting between Touma and the Railgun gang was too good to pass up.

For further thoughts, including commentary on recent reviews, see the bottom of the page.

Now on to the story, enjoy!

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Anyone looking at the girl standing on the corner would have thought she was waiting alone. Even in this slightly crowded thoroughfare, she stood out just enough to be noticed by those that passed by. The floral headband was the first to make an impression, suggesting an air of grace that would not be otherwise realized when looking at her simple and modest uniform. This impression was followed by an acknowledgment of the green band currently pinned to her sleeve.

The symbol of a Judgment member was a sign of some hidden strength, esper or otherwise, that almost seemed out of place on such a graceful, borderline dainty, girl. This was Academy City, however, and people have long since learned that appearances were deceiving. The smart ones anyway.

These aspects could be the the reason that Uiharu was receiving some strange looks from the people around her. Or perhaps it was the fact that she was, at that time, holding an animated conversation with a piece of jewelry . . .

"They are late . . ."

"It's alright Beetle-san."

"I don't like it . . ."

"You're over thinking it. Saten-san is always late and I'm sure Kamijo-san is just got held up somewhere."

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of!"

Uiharu shook her head and smiled at the little white beetle clipped to the skirt of her uniform. It had only been a few days and it was already worrying about the safety of her friends. It would be adorable if she didn't know what it was capable of when a threat reared its ugly, poorly educated head.

She still wasn't sure why it refused to enter her room though. Something about "boundaries" and being a "gentleman" playing into the beetles argument. She had giggled when she heard that. Instead, the beetle had spent each night in her dorm's hallway since the day they met. At the moment, it was fidgeting on its clip.

"I _knew_ I should have given them one of my selves the other day."

"Over thinking it, Beetle-san."

The little white beetle went silent again. Uiharu felt that it was sulking for some reason. Exactly _how_ she knew it was sulking on the other hand was beyond her. She decided to leave it at that and wait quietly for her other friends to arrive. Her plan was to let Saten meet and thank Touma before they introduced him to their other friends.

Uiharu giggled a little when she remembered the situation that had occurred when Touma dropped Saten at her dorm a few nights ago. They had to pry the drooling Saten off of Touma. All the while Saten was muttering for her "Onii-chan" and tightening her grip. Uiharu teased her mercilessly the entire morning after that. She was very glad she decided to video record it. She couldn't wait to show it to Mikoto and Kuroko. They would laugh and laugh.

"U. I. Ha. RUUU!"

Uiharu felt a breeze and froze before muscle memory took over and she flattened her billowing skirt.

"SATEN-SAN!"

Uiharu began to lightly pound on her friend in embarrassment. Unlike her friend, Saten was wearing her casual clothes. Uiharu was wearing her uniform because of rare Saturday morning Judgment duties, which, along with the usual late afternoon duties, left her with no incentive to change.

Kuroko had been exempt from duty recently, due to Tokiwadai's requirement for its students to prepare for the new system scans that were being held on Monday and so hadn't been to the branch office for nearly a week. Needless to say, Uiharu and Konori-san had been buried in work for several days. Lucky for those students, though, the weekend afternoons were being set as free time.

The beetle clipped to her flying skirt chose that moment to speak up.

"Saten-san, I believe we talked about this . . ."

"Oh, come on Beetle-san. This is the best part of knowing Uiharu!"

The beetle twitched slightly but was cut off from further conversation by the arrival of our spiky-haired hero, Kamijo Touma. Bearing a few fresh bruises and clearly out of breath, he opened his greeting with an apology.

"Sorry, Sorry! I got caught up in something on the way over here."

Uiharu nudged her friend with a wicked grin pulling on her lips. She didn't notice Saten's growing look of recognition.

"Oh look Saten-san, 'Onii-chan' is here. . ."

"Quiet you . . . " Saten muttered and turned her head away, hoping the blazing scarlet on her face would fade before the new arrival noticed. She didn't need to worry.

"It's fine Kamijo-san, we're just happy you could make it. Saten-san especially." Uiharu answered, ignoring the swat from her friend.

"Uiharu notwithstanding, I am glad that I have this opportunity to thank you for your help." Saten bowed to Touma with folded hands. "So thank you so much for coming to save my friend. I wish I had some way to repay you . . ."

Touma waved his hands. "I didn't do it for rewards. Anyone could have done what I did."

"I really doubt that." Saten began and moved a little closer to him. "You look really familiar . . ."

She grinned when the realization struck her. "You're the good-luck-charm-runner-boy! Uiharu's video didn't show your face. I'm the girl that gave you the charm!"

"I thought you seemed familiar" Touma smiled back at her. "When I'm busy I tend to forget names. You were a big help back then. Thank you, I guess that makes us even then."

Saten blinked "Borrowing a charm and saving a life aren't exactly equivalent . . . "

"It felt like it during that race."

"You mentioned being 'caught up in something', Kamijo-san" The beetle broke into the conversation at last, its tone holding an edge of accusation. "Would you mind elaborating?"

"Oh, I just had to stop a level 4 pyrokinetic from burning down a city park."

Saten was astonished at his nonchalant attitude. " . . . how?"

"I just negated his power with my hand and punched him. Glass chin. It usually works."

"So you're saying your power . . ." Saten began.

" . . . is to cancel out all other powers" Uiharu finished.

"Well . . . I guess you could say that . . ." Touma began, feeling a little defensive all of a sudden.

Uiharu and Saten stood frozen for a moment before looking at each other with eyes the size of dinner plates. Touma took a step back when they suddenly grabbed each other and began jumping up and down at a frantic pace.

"SQUEEEEEEEE! ! !"

Touma blinked in bemusement.

"Um . . . Is this normal?"

"Uiharu-san, can you stop jumping? I'm getting nauseous down here . . ."

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"And then she sneezed so hard that she flew across the room, bounced off the bed, and landed like a wet futon on the floor. Sneezing the entire time! I wish I could have gotten it on camera!"

The girls were nearly doubled over in laughter as they walked beside Touma on their way to meet the others. It had taken a few minutes to calm the two of them down after the revelation was made that Touma was the living legend from the urban legend site. In the end they had screamed themselves out and were able to explain their reactions, abet breathlessly and repeatedly finishing each others thoughts. Touma felt a little disturbed at some of the details attributed to him. Some of the most outlandish sounding claims were in fact the ones closest to the truth.

"So then what happened, Kamijo-san?" Saten asked when she was finally able to catch her breath after the recent bout of giggles.

Touma continued, acting out his part as his story unfolded. He had been right, it was just as funny as he thought it would be.

"The second she hit the floor, I grabbed the loaf of bread I put on the counter behind me and ran into the bathroom."

He paused dramatically. "I had just locked the door when she was right there pounding and screaming: 'TOU-achoo-MAAAAA! ! !'"

At this point, Saten and Uiharu were nearly falling over themselves in laughter and found that they had to grab a hold of his arms every so often in order to prevent themselves from losing their footing and hitting the pavement. Touma slowed his pace and let them catch their breath before the group continued on again.

"Ah, Kamijo-san, what happened to your groceries when all this was happening?" Uhiharu asked, suddenly remembering her part in carrying them for Touma the other day. She hated to think they had gone to waste in the uproar.

"Ah yes, I forgot to mention that. Since I knew what reaction I would get from that stunt, I dropped them off with my neighbor's little sister. She agreed to come in and start making dinner as soon as she heard screaming. My roommate mostly calmed down when dinner was finished."

"Didn't that request seem strange to her?" Saten asked, imagining a person randomly coming into another person's apartment and making them dinner during a fight like that.

"No, everyone in my dorm is used to the screaming by now . . . "

"That doesn't sound very relaxing, Kamijo-san . . . " Uiharu began cautiously.

"Would you like an new roommate then?" Saten asked before cutting herself off and turning her head away from Touma. She realized the implications of what she had just said and could feel her face starting to burn from her slip of the tongue. She wasn't sure what was worse: the confused look on Touma's face or the almost glowing wide grin on Uiharu's.

Before Uiharu had the chance to put the screws into her friend, Touma spoke up. Perhaps a bit too quickly . . .

"I'm used to it really. I can't even remember what it was like before she showed up . . ."

"That's . . . sweet. I guess." Saten stated, feeiling a little lame. She still couldn't look at either one of them and was grateful when Touma finally changed the subject.

"Anyway, This area is starting to seem really familiar. Where are we heading again?"

Uiharu picked up the conversation. "First we have to pick up two of my friends at their dorms. Then to pick up my former roommate at the hospital and finally we stop off for lunch at our favorite restaurant."

"Hospital? Is she OK?" Touma asked, feeling a bit concerned.

"Oh, she is just visiting her friend who is recuperating. They had a week-long overnight stay program to help patients recover faster, so she took advantage of that. She hasn't even met Beetle-san yet!" Uiharu explained, wanting to put him at ease. The white beetle clipped to her skirt twitched briefly, acknowledging this as a fact. The three of them gradually became aware of the fact that Touma had started walking slower in the past few minutes.

"Is everything alright, Kamijo-san?" The white beetle asked, noting to itself the look of slight unease on Touma's face.

"I just remembered that not many schools have dorms in this part of the district. Which school are they going to, again?"

"Ah, I forgot to mention that. They go to Tokiwadai. You might even have heard of them, They are pretty powerful – Um, Kamijo-san is everything alright?" Uiharu broke off when she realized that Touma had stopped walking with them.

They turned and saw him planted a few steps back, body rigid and face staring at the ground. It held a tense, somewhat forced looking smile.

"I'm probably fine . . . everyone at Tokiwadai is pretty powerful . . ." The group wasn't certain who he was trying to reassure. "Then again . . . with my luck . . ."

Concerned, Uiharu and Saten walked back to ask him what was wrong, only to stop in confusion when, still looking at the ground, he threw his right hand in front of him with an almost casual motion. Confusion that turned to surprise when that hand was struck by lightning a moment later.

"AH!" they both yelped and threw themselves backwards away from Touma each landing seated on the ground nearby. The white beetle began to shiver, still clipped to Uiharu's skirt.

A new voice filled with a strange combination of frustration and almost perverse joy rang out immediately afterwords. It was familiar to all.

"IDIOT!"

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Touma finally raised his head and regarded his "attacker". The girl wore the uniform of Tokiwadai middle school, her hair was short and light brown, and her body was tense. Touma recognized the expression on her face as one frighteningly similar to the one she had worn after he had met up with her at the start of their "punishment game" a while back. She was either angry with, or happy to see him. Touma couldn't really tell anymore.

"Hey, biri-biri." he started with a strained smile crossing his face, but quickly stopped when she began sparking anew.

The girls didn't know what to make of this. They had fallen to the ground in their attempt to get away from the lightning and were astonished to see that it been Mikoto who had sent the attack. It was like she couldn't even see her friends, so focused was she on the boy standing in front of her. Uiharu could feel the beetle trembling.

"Beetle-san . . ."

While Mikoto was currently in her own world, her companion on the other hand was all too aware of the company that her ape-like rival was keeping. Snapping out of the white shock she had been in, her reaction was predictable.

"AHH! Onee-sama! Why must you look at that gentleman, that ape, with such hungry, sweet yet scary eyes? He even has some of our own under his spell. This can't be happening! What is the source of this brutal nightmare? Did that maid put something in our breakfast this morning? Answer me, Onee-sama! ONEE-SAMA!"

It was then that Kuroko had a vision that chilled her to the bone. One she never would have imagined herself having before that day and one she knew she would be seeing each and every time she closed her eyes for the foreseeable future.

It was a vision of her Onee-sama, Uihari, Saten, Haruue, and even herself surrounding that ape in a hazy sweet smelling room. They were dressed in skimpy harem girl outfits, each one competing for his attention. Hand feeding him grapes, serving him sweet wine, and fanning him with magnificent feather fans. Kuroko felt something snap inside of her mind.

"WAAHH! The barbarian has infected my mind. I must! Get! The poison! Out! Of! My! HEAD!" Kuroko screamed while rhythmically slamming her forehead into the lamppost beside her. "The Poison's not coming out!"

A black aura surrounded the teleporter as she turned to regard the source of all her troubles. A brush of her fingers past her thighs brought a set of steel nails into her hands.

"This animal must be put down! It must be me who will join with Onee-sama! I will be the one to share her bed, spy on her in the shower, rifle through her most intimate and private undergar–**URK**!"

Kuroko was left on the ground fried black and crispy, still emitting sparks from her beloved Onee-sama's annoyed electrical burst. Touma decided to speak up.

"Um . . . is she going to be alright, biri-bi–"

That woke Mikoto from her semi-trance. She began throwing sparks around her and took a menacing step forward at last.

"My name's not Biri-biri! It's Misa–"

The response was unexpected. From where Uiharu was sitting came an eruption of feathery white ribbons that traveled like a cannon shot to the place between Touma and Mikoto. A whirlwind-like burst of white fog exploded in the space between the pair and began to dissipate. A beautiful white boy stood in its place, his arms stretched to each side shielding the group behind him. His eyes narrowed at the girl standing before him. Those green eyes were defiant and a scowl was firmly entrenched on his face. He had seen enough.

"Stand down, Railgun."

Mikoto wasn't quite sure what to make of this new arrival. "What the . . . ?"

"I am Dark Matter, the #2 level five of this city. I won't let you hurt these people!"

Mikoto stood blinking at the new revelation laid out in front of her. She seemed frozen in time for the second time that day. The white boy took the opportunity to address the boy standing behind him.

"Kamijo-san, take the girls somewhere safe. Take them them to ITEM if you have to." His scowl deepened further. "I'll hold off the Railgun and her crony here to give you some time."

Touma tried to explain. "Um, Beetle-san . . ."

"**GO**!"

Kuroko jumped to her feet, surprising everyone with the rapid recovery she had just displayed. She shrieked and waved her spikes at the new intruder.

"How dare you take my dearest Onee-sama's name in vain! She is the moon, the stars and the sun! I have been given the sacred mission of eliminating that barbarian to protect Onee-sama's chastity! CHASTITY THAT RIGHTFULLY BELONGS TO KUROKO!"

"Kuroko . . ."

"Onee-sama, you can't fall under that monkey-fingered, ape gentleman's spell! He will hold you in his arms til you can feel the disease! I need to kill it before it spreads!"

Kuroko was abruptly silenced when a ghostly white hand extended from the lamppost behind her and firmly chopped the top of her head. She spun around and landed flat on the ground with a dopey grin on her face. A ring of tiny Mikotos were jogging laps around her head.

"Hehehe . . . so many Onee-samas . . ."

Kakine addressed the fallen girl "Come together somewhere else."

Ordinarily, Mikoto would have been upset at an attack on one of her friends. At the moment though, her cat-like eyes revealed that her priorities had been shifted elsewhere for the time being. She pointed at the white boy standing with arms outstretched in front of her.

"You! I hear you're powerful. I challenge you to a duel!"

Everyone still conscious blinked at the challenge. The white boy's face twitched and his arms fell to his sides. His fingers curled into fists so tightly that they would be drawing blood had he been anyone else. His gaze fell towards the ground as he began to shake.

"You try to kill my friends, _right in front of me . . ._"

The white boy raised his head to look at the challenger with utter and undisguised hatred. "AND THEN YOU HAVE THE GALL TO CHALLENGE ME TO A DUEL! ! !"

With that final shriek, a set of six white wings exploded into existence from the boy's back. The thunderous roar that they emitted would have made Mikoto's railgun proud had it been able to form an opinion about such things. The aforementioned girl had been blown backwards onto the ground, partially in shock and partially from the force of his wings' emergence. However a sore bottom was the least of her troubles as the white boy made his first step towards the monster in front of him.

What happened next was something that no one could have predicted. The white boy stopped, his body going rigid, a look of shock frozen on his face. Nearly forgotten at the back, Uiharu had leapt forward and thrown her arms around the boy from behind. Heedless of the danger that those wings posed.

Uiharu whispered in his ear. "Please, Beetle-san . . . don't hurt them . . . " She could feel him tremble as her tears hit his shoulder. "They're my friends . . ."

"I . . . understand . . . " Uiharu felt the boy relax, abet slightly. He spoke up in a quiet voice, addressing the Railgun at a reluctant pace. "Then I apologise for my actions . . ."

He turned his head away and muttered to himself. "Not that I regret them . . . "

With that, Uiharu felt the boy dissolving away in her arms. In a moment all that remained was the small white beetle once again clipped to her skirt. Touma walked forward to help Mikoto up.

"You OK, Biri-biri?" He offered her his hand which she accepted with some frustration.

"I'm not helpless you know! And when are you going to stop calling me that?"

"Never." Touma replied with a smile and left the sparking Mikoto to check on her companion. He knelt down and poked the drooling Kuroko.

"Hehehehe . . . Onee-sama, punish me more!"

Touma grimaced and pinched her nose shut with his right hand. After a few seconds of snorting and flailing the teleporter was finally awake.

"AHH! It's the barbarian! You just woke me from the most wonderful dream! I was surrounded by 9971 Onee-samas!"

Mikoto and Touma both grimaced and turned their heads away from the hysterical girl. Large beads of flop sweat were visible on their foreheads for some reason. Saten took the opportunity to speak up at last.

"So, I take it you guys are acquainted . . ." She started, feeling an awkward smile forming on her face.

"We've met." Touma spoke out, and started to rub his stomach in a hopeful gesture. "It's a longish story. Why don't we tell it over lunch?"

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The group was seated at Joseph's at last.

The group had calmed down during the trip to the hospital to pick up Haruue from her visit with Banri. The two girls had politely greeted and thanked Touma after hearing of his part in saving Uiharu and Saten a few days earlier.

They were less certain when Uiharu introduced them to a piece of white jewlery and claimed that it also saved them. They decided to play along and introduced themselves to the little white beetle. The beetle, meanwhile, was silent through this. After promising the recovering girl that they would take her out as well the second she was able, they made their way to the restaurant.

The Railgun gang, plus two, were seated at their favorite booth: Haruue, Uiharu, and Saten took one side, while Kuroko, Mikoto, and Touma sat on the other. The server handed them their menus and left to give them time to decide on their orders. Saten then decided that now was good time to broach the subject.

"So Mikoto-san, why did you try to shock Kamijo-san back there?"

Mikoto felt herself going red, but Touma spoke up first.

"Oh, she does that every time we meet. Running gag, you know."

"It's not every time, you idiot!" Mikoto yelled and started to spark uncontrollably. Touma responded by placing his right hand on her head. The girls felt their eyes widen when the electricity dissipated with the sound of shattering glass.

"Get your hand off my head! What am I, your cat!?" Mikoto indignantly yelled before remembering that she was in a public place and shrunk down in her seat from the glares of the other patrons. The girls tittered in mirth at her reaction, but Saten found herself focusing on Mikoto's blazing red cheeks. Mikoto's reactions were bothering her for some reason . . . .

At that moment, a swarm of white exploded from under the table and formed in the shape of a white boy standing beside their booth. The other patrons wisely decided to ignore this spectacle for their own sanity. He shared a glare with the Railgun and addressed the group for the first time since the incident earlier, ignoring the wide-eyed and astonished look from Haruue.

"I'll get us our drinks. Kamijo-san, would you mind helping me?" Touma agreed and stood up to join the level five. "Oh, Uiharu-san. If they have your favorite cake, I'll have them send it over."

"Ah, Thank you Beetle-san!" Uiharu chirped and clapped her hands in gleeful anticipation. She turned back and saw her former roomate staring at her with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. Almost, but not quite, to the floor.

"Uh, yeah . . . about that . . . ."

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Touma and the white boy stood near the beverage counter collecting the cups and hot water for tea. As promised, they put in an order for Uiharu's cake. The level five smiled, picturing her reaction. He then remembered his other reason for appearing.

"Kamijo-san, is what you said about the Railgun true?"

Touma looked at the boy questioningly. "About the lightning? Pretty much, yes. But, don't worry, that's just how she is sometimes . . ."

"That is what worries me" The white boy muttered to himself before continuing. "Do you trust her?"

Touma raised an eyebrow. "I believe she is a good person, Beetle-san. Regardless of the aggravated assault . . ."

"Kamijo-san. She is not the number three in this city for no reason. Just like I am the number two and that white haired bastard is number one. It's not about power, it's about potential. You yourself have seen how dangerous she can be when plans come to fruition."

"She is a good person, Kakine."

"All I'm saying, Kamijo-san, is that sometimes even when we have all the power in the world we can't save ourselves or protect the people who are special to us. When all others fail, you still have have that power, Kamijo-san."

Touma briefly sighed and looked at the ground. He said nothing.

"Will you promise me one thing? That no matter what happens, you will protect Uiharu and Saten-san for me. Even from the Railgun or the number one. Even from _Me_?"

Touma raised his head and fixed his gaze on the eyes of the level five before him. He smiled with complete conviction and spoke.

"Know this Beetle-san: Until my last day, and possibly after, this Kamijo Touma will protect those girls, all of them, with everything he has. If their world comes crashing down, I will use my own head to prop it up. Their world is my world, and I promise you this: I _will_ take their hands and guide them from the dark."

The Seraph smiled at those words. There was no doubt in his mind.

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Saten hadn't intended to eavesdrop. Really she hadn't. She had excused herself to use the restroom and had grown curious at the delay in getting the drinks. She had spotted the boys by the counter and crept up behind the plants growing at the side. She wasn't sure why. She just felt that she needed to listen.

It was Touma's final statement that had caught her off guard. Each passing word pierced her with pin pricks of ice running down her back. She felt her legs losing strength and her back slid down the wall behind her until she silently hit the floor. Her shaking hands touched her burning face and the liquid edging her eyes.

She was only dimly aware of the white boy disappearing again, leaving the beetle on the serving tray. She didn't notice that Mikoto had joined the Touma and insisted on carrying the tray herself. Nor the conversation that took place between the three as they walked back to the table.

She couldn't lift her eyes from the ground to look, it was hard enough to keep from shaking. She felt her fingers running down her face. She felt the heat there.

"_Touma . . ._"

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Mikoto had become impatient. That's why she had gotten up to check on the two boys.

That and the fact that she still didn't quite trust the other level five. From what she had heard of him she wouldn't put it past him to try to hurt Touma when their guard was down. She didn't like the idea of him hanging around her friends either.

She had just been about to turn the corner when Kakine had asked Touma that final question. She felt herself burn at Touma's words. She was more prepared to deal with this than Saten had been. After all, she had already been through this once before.

"Idiot. That idiot . . . " Mikoto closed her eyes and shook her head. "Why does he say things like that? Why does he always take the responsibility onto himself, and himself alone?"

She heard the telltale pop of the level five returning to his miniature form and, having composed herself, turned the corner to confront the two. She saw Touma beginning to pick up the tray with their drinks.

"I'll take that, thanks. I'd like to see it get to our table in one piece."

"Ah, Misaka-san. That's probably a good idea. Why are you here anyway?"

"I got bored." Mikoto turned her head away and began carrying the tray. She leaned in and addressed the beetle on the tray. "I think the two of us need to talk."

"If you can do so politely, then yes, I agree." the beetle stated, its translucent wings forming the words.

Mikoto gritted her teeth before replying. "Fine. Have the idiot show you our usual spot by the vending machine. We'll meet there tomorrow at noon."

The beetle made no reply, but folded its wings, apparently satisfied.

The trio made their way back to the table and seated themselves after dispensing the drinks. Their food had arrived in the meantime and they began to tuck in. Mikoto doing her best to hold off a jealous Kuroko's attemps to hand(force)feed her french fries, while glaring at the spiky-haired boy on the other side of her Onee-sama. All in all, it was turning out to be a pleasant meal.

Uiharu clipped the beetle back to its place on her skirt and began to look around.

"Has anyone seen Saten-san? She's been gone awhile . . . "

Mikoto considered the timing between Saten's and her own exit from their table and decided she had a good idea why Saten had yet to return. She turned away from her friend when she felt the slight burning in her chest and looked at the place where the boys' prior conversation had taken place.

Mikoto answered her friend slowly. "Saten-san will return in her own time. She just has a decision to make."

Uihari seemed confused, but accepted Mikoto's explanation and continued attacking her cake.

Mikoto turned her eyes down to her hands, folded them in her lap and muttered quietly to no one in particular.

"I just hope she makes the right one . . ."

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Author's note:

There it is, I hope you enjoyed this part!

For those wondering about the number Kuroko quotes, I am counting Mikoto, but not Worst and her ilk.

Considering Kakine's actions in NT 7 involving Fremea (remaining clipped to her backpack, but refusing to spend the night in her room) I felt this implied two things. First, he doesn't totally trust ITEM (or probably any level five for that matter) in protecting someone he cares about. Second, he finds an older male staying in a younger girl's room to be unacceptable, even if he is worried about them. I wanted this to come out in his relationship with Uiharu et al.

I am also fairly certain that, in general, the level fives don't particularly like each other. Some even less than others.

Part 1 fulfilled my desire to have someone call out for the "rhinocerous beetle" as well as have Kakine apologize to Uiharu.

Part 2 was written for the meeting of Touma and the Raildex gang. Touma's conversation with Kakine built from there.

The remaining parts will involve Kakine meeting with the other six level fives as a primary focus. This is primarily a talking fic rather than an action fic, so be forewarned. Touma, Uiharu and Saten will also continue to play important parts in the story. I want the relationships between the four of them to grow.

Bad news: I have 2-3 papers to write by October, so further updates will be more erratic. We'll see how things turn out. I'll update my profile if anything important comes up.

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Reviews:

First of all, Thank you! Every review, favorite, and follow gives me further incentive to write. Now to address a few concerns:

Silverfang88:

Thank you for your kind words! I do agree that Kuroko was given the short end of the stick in this particular chapter, but she will be a bit more mellow in the following ones. I was writing her to the rule of funny, with the thought being that she was not having a good week. While she was stuck getting ready for System Scans (kind of like SATs on steroids), two of her friends were nearly killed. She then finds that the person that helped save them was not only the one that saved her own life, but also pledged to protect the world around someone she loved more than anything else. Basically, she had a minor mental breakdown and is now dealing with Touma's new place in their group. This will be seen in further chapters. As for Kakine and Touma, after the fight with Rensa they have a definite respect for each other as you have noted. Expect to see this to be explained/expanded further as well.

Trannon1:

You are correct, Kakine (Beetle 5) is OOC compared to NT. That said, I believe that Kakine is feeling very vulnerable after the events of NT7. His reaction to Mikoto could be explained like this: the level fives generally don't talk to each other and, therefore, know each other by reputation if they have never met personally. I don't recall Kakine meeting Mikoto in canon, so I believe he only knows the Railgun as someone who randomly attacks people weaker than her. They will clear the air eventually, but his meeting with Mikoto (and Accelerator later on) will be very tense. So fear not! Our kind Beetle five is not gone, just on vacation.

As for Touma: Touma and Mikoto's usual banter was cut short by Kakine's attempt to defend the group and Uiharu's success in calming him down. Had that not happened, Mikoto probably would have chased him all the way to the hospital. "SUCH MISFORTUNE!"

I hope that answers some questions/concerns!

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All the best everyone!

Now, lets get writing!


	3. Grains of Sand

**He will Surely Save, Part 3: Grains of Sand**

**I do not own the RAILDEX universe.**

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Author's note:

Greetings all! The first paper has been coming together faster than I anticipated, so here is another chapter for your reading pleasure.

I would like to once again thank each of you that followed, favorited, and most of all reviewed this work. There's no better way to keep a guy writing . . .

EDIT: Thank you for your reviews! Commentary at the end!

Word of warning: The story is not in a linear order like the first two chapters. The italics at the beginning of each section give the location and approximate time of each part.

Enjoy!

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_A Certain Vending Machine; just before Noon._

Misaka Mikoto was impatient, but that in itself was nothing new. The reason for her impatience on the other hand was a bit out of the ordinary, in that it was caused by a boy. Well, a boy besides the usual spiky-haired one. It was Sunday today and she was standing at the oft-mistreated, frequently thieving vending machine where she usually met the aforementioned idiot. Part of her wished he _was_ the one she was meeting here . . .

It was nearly noon at this point and Mokoto was not-so-eagerly anticipating the arrival of another level five. A certain ghastly-white insufferably-polite-to-everyone-but-her level five named Kakine Teitoku, who had started hanging around her friends after apparently "saving them" a few days ago. She didn't like it.

Feeling that there was no time like the present to start working out some frustration, she spun in place and landed her trademark chaser kick on the much despised vending machine and retrieved the can that popped out. Spicy Lemonade? Who was stocking this thing?

Mikoto shook her head and opened it. She had just started to take her first chug when a soft voice drifted out from behind her.

"Neat trick. You'll have to show me sometime . . ."

The resulting spit take had been epic. Even Mikoto was impressed by the size of the resultant rainbow. She spun around to find that a pure white boy had stepped out from behind the vending machine, seemingly from nowhere.

"You!"

"Yes, Me. Kamijo-san recommended I bring a peace offering. He said you would appreciate something like this." The white boy replied and held out something to Mikoto.

The hesitant expression on Mikoto's face was quickly replaced by cat eyes and grabby hands. It was a beautiful, pure white Gekota doll! She grabbed it from the boy's hand and started to spin and jump around the plaza.

"Gekota! Gekota! Gekota! YAHHOOO!"

Her elation was interrupted when she realized something.

"Wait a minute. I've never seen a Gekota like this one before . . ."

"You shouldn't have." The white boy replied while crossing his arms "Congratulations, You are now the proud owner of the only Dark Matter Gekota in existence."

Mikoto immediately held the doll away from herself, pinched between two fingers like she was afraid it was about to explode.

"This thing isn't going to turn into you at some point is it? Because if it is, I don't want it."

The boy looked a little offended at that remark and replied.

"Sorry, but no. I have better things to do than hang around _you_ all day. It's the same as any stuffed animal, except that it defies several laws of physics"

"Which laws exactly?" Mikoto raised her eyebrows.

The boy gestured towards himself as he explained. "Just like this self's body, the toy is transparent to electro-magnetism."

"So you are saying I can't shock either of you? I can work with more than just electricity."

"How does that saying go? 'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure' or something like that?"

Mikoto felt her teeth gritting before the boy spoke again.

"Regardless, I came here to talk, not to fight. That doll is yours as a gift in good faith."

Mikoto looked at the Gekota doll in her hands. She really didn't want to get rid of it . . . It was Gekota! The only one of its kind! The Gekota fan forum would wet themselves when they heard about this!

"Then I'll take it. But don't think that this is all it'll take to get me to trust you with my friends!"

"I could say the same thing to you" The boy muttered to himself before continuing. "Do you know what our friends are doing right now?"

"You mean my friends"

"_Our_ friends. Unfortunately. "

"Hey!"

The white boy ignored the other level five and continued almost serenely.

"We are visiting Edasaki-san in the hospital again today. I wasn't feeling particularly talkative yesterday thanks to a certain someone. I felt I owed her a more decent introduction than I gave her. I'm just glad this hospital stay was just due to overexertion and not a relapse . . ."

Mikoto was livid. She could feel herself throwing sparks even when she knew they were currently useless.

"Is that a threat!?"

The boy rubbed his forehead. He was starting to feel the exasperation Touma mentioned as a possibility. He sighed before answering the zappy girl.

"I'm trying to make a point, Misaka-san. Strong as you may be, you are one. I am many, and I would lay down every life I have to keep those girls safe."

"SO WOULD I!" Mikoto stepped up defiantly to the white boy.

"And I admire that about you!" The boy responded firmly, waving a finger in Mikoto's face. "But do you really think your friends would be happy losing you?!"

Mikoto gritted her teeth, but said nothing.

"They would blame themselves and you know it."

"That doesn't mean I can't fight to protect them!" Mikoto responded with balled fists held close to her sides. Man, she wanted to punch this guy . . .

The boy raised his voice at the agitated girl. "I never said you couldn't!"

He looked off into the distance and paused. The action made Mikoto hesitate. She wasn't sure what to make of his next words.

"We're both dangerous, Misaka-san. Your little situation at the Daihasei festival and mine during the agitate halation fiasco only prove it."

The boy turned and regarded the electromaster with a serious tone.

"I have a question for you, Misaka-san. Can you really trust yourself to save you friends, no matter what happens in the darkness of this city, of this world?"

"And I have a question for you." Mikoto pulled a hand out of the pocket she had casually placed it into a moment before. "Have you ever heard of a railgun . . . ?"

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_A Certain Hospital; A few minutes after Noon._

The white boy had a thoughtful look on his face as he peered through the window, his eyes lost in the distance.

"Um, Beetle-san? Is everything alright?"

The white boy snapped out of his reverie and regarded the girl before him.

"Ah, of course, Haruue-san. I was just musing over some things. Is she ready?"

Erii nodded her head and gestured towards the door. "Yes, I gave her some advanced warning, so she should be fine meeting you. Do you want to go in?"

"I'll wait for Uiharu-san and Saten-san to return from the bakery. We can go in together then. Might ease the shock a bit more . . . "

The girl nodded her head and turned to re-enter the room. "I'll let her know"

The boy smiled at her as she left and settled back towards the window. Action elsewhere and nothing better to do but wait. . .

It hadn't been particularly long after that when the other girls made their way down that hallway.

"Saten-san!"

"I'm just saying. With the right lingerie you wouldn't even mind me flipping your skirt!"

The boy's hand tightened briefly on the window sill. Uiharu was practically jumping up and down in frustration.

"Don't flip my skirt!"

"You could flip mine if it bothers you so much . . ."

"What is it with you and skirts!?"

The flower-headed girl stomped down the hall to where their ghostly friend stood. Whether the blazing vermilion of her cheeks was sourced in frustration or embarrassment was no longer possible to determine. The girl made a final stomp before the white boy.

"Beetle-san! I thought you were supposed to protect me from things like this!"

"That's the problem you run into when you vow to protect _everyone's_ smiles, Uiharu-san . . ." the white boy replied easily. Uiharu grumbled as she felt her face fall. She began to pout and ignored Saten's thumbs up. It wasn't helping.

"Ah, you guys are back. Get in here, we're hungry!" Haruue waved from the door ushering them into the hospital room. The white boy followed the two girls inside and noted the just slightly too wide and too tight smile on the lips of the girl in the bed.

"Thank you for having me Edasaki-san."

"It's no problem . . ."

"Despite this form's appearance, I am the same beetle you met yesterday. I would like to apologize for my sullen nature when we were introduced. I was . . . put out of sorts shortly before we arrived . . ."

The girl waved her hands. "No, No! It's fine!"

"If you don't mind me asking, you look rather healthy for someone spending time in a hospital."

Banri looked embarrassed and chuckled to herself.

"That's what I have been telling the doctors for a few days now . . ."

The girl relaxed a bit and continued.

"I'm really just here for observation. I collapsed from exhaustion a few days ago during the preliminary system scans." Banri explained trying to settle the new boy's fears. He raised his eyebrows while she continued.

"I would have been fine to go the next day, but with me being in a coma not long ago, they decided to keep me here and give the system scan on site. They plan to let me go on Tuesday if there are no issues."

Uiharu spoke up with an excited tone. "Then we should get together with Kamijo-san for dinner as a celebration!"

Saten felt her grip tighten on the railing at the foot of the bed. The boy smiled, but remained silent.

Haruue was the one to speak up. "That sounds wonderful! So what will it be this time, grill or hot pot?"

"Hot pot!" Uiharu and Banri shouted as one.

Saten turned to the boy. "What do you think, Beetle-san?"

"Anything is fine." The white boy smiled and adressed Banri and Erii. "You two have been friends for some time, right? How did you meet Misaka-san?"

Erii thought for a second and began. "Well, it all started when I was assigned to be Uiharu-san's roommate . . ."

The boy nodded. This would prove to be an interesting story.

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_A Certain Vending Machine; A few minutes after Noon._

"_Have you ever heard or a railgun . . . ?"_

The White boy smiled. "I suppose I should feel honored that you consider me that big of a threat."

Mikoto was silent as she held the coin between her fingers. Her arm held outstretched before her and her head was canted inline with it, one eye open and fixed on the boy that dared to take advantage of her friends. She wouldn't be fooled so easily.

"Misaka-san, Numbers One and Four both tried that tactic. It didn't work." The boy remained calm and spoke with an almost serene lilt to his voice. "What worries me is what Uiharu-san and Saten-san would think if they saw you pointing that at one of their friends . . ."

Mikoto lowered her arm in a slow and deliberate motion. Her body remained tense and sparked every so often. She struggled to keep her tone level.

"You call yourself their friend so easily."

"I want to protect them." the boy replied without hesitation. "And I did save their lives you know."

"That idiot was there. He would have saved them anyways."

"Yes, I'm sure that 12 on 1 knife vs. egg fight would have gone splendidly."

"I have faith in him . . ." Mikoto trailed off, turning her burning face away from the other level five.

"So do I." The boy maintained a steely tone. "That's why I asked him the question that I did yesterday. I know you were listening and I know you know I'm right."

"That doesn't give you the right to take advantage of them!" Mikoto shouted. This guy was more irritating than that other idiot who showed up at this vending machine a while ago!

The boy felt his face twitch in irritation. Was the Railgun always this stubborn? Take a break some time, honestly!

"Are we even standing next to the same vending machine?! Have I been speaking Swahili without realizing it?!" The boy began to rub his temples in frustration. He didn't think it was possible for him to get a headache anymore. He was wrong. "What are you, five? Your friends can only be your friends and no one else's?"

"_You_ are NOT NORMAL!" Mikoto shrieked and reflexively sent out a shock, frying the vending machine beside them. They could here the sirens starting to go off. "Crud."

"I suggest we run . . ." The boy said, starting a languid jog in the direction of the underground mall.

Mikoto glared at him as she started running after him at a far more rapid pace. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Very much, thanks for asking." the white boy replied and upped his pace to keep up with the furious girl. "Perhaps we could retire to a location where we can work out some of that aggression. I hear the arcade has some wonderfully violent fighting games . . ."

"Dear Lord, I wish I could shock you!"

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_A Certain Park, Shortly before Noon._

"Well, here it is Beetle-san"

The spiky-haired boy looked over his left shoulder at his current passenger. A small white beetle was perched just behind it. The were on time for the meeting as they had promised the other level five.

"Thank you, Kamijo-san. I just follow this path then?" The beetle asked as it lifted itself into the air and hovered just outside the other boy's reach.

"Yes, The vending machine is about halfway through." Touma replied,then added bitterly. "Don't put money in it."

The beetle turned slowly in place to regard his former beast of burden. "Exactly what money are you expecting me to have in this form, Kamijo-san?"

"Just saying. That's all."

The beetle seemed to have an amused tone when it spoke. Then again Touma was starting to think it was becoming his natural tone. Snarky or not, at least _this_ level five didn't make a hobby of trying to kill him on a regular basis. The beetle bobbed in place as it replied.

"Fine. Then I take it you will be at the underground mall then?"

Touma rubbed the back of his head feeling a little awkward as he answered.

"Yeah, This is an invitation I wouldn't feel right turning down. Are you sure you will be OK with Biri-Biri? A peace offering might help. Something in a Gekota perhaps . . ."

"I've taken care of it. Now, go have fun. I'll be seeing you!" The white beetle reassured the boy with a buoyantly chipper tone and began to slowly fly down the main path. Touma paused at the playful words. Why did that last statement send shivers down his spine?

"Why do you have to make 'fun' sound so unappealing, beetle-san?" The boy asked, muttering under his breath as he turned and made his way to the underground mall. The underground mall and the "appointment" he had there.

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_A Certain Hospital; About a Quarter to Noon._

The voice of a certain flower-headed girl rang out just outside the double doors.

"All right then!" Uiharu cheered to her companions and began pointing. "Saten-san and I will go get Edasaki-san's favorites from the bakery down the road. You two can wait here and tell her we'll be a little late."

"Er, that sounds fine . . . I guess." Erii replied weakly and waved as the pair took off jogging down the street. " Well then, . . . um."

"Beetle-san seems to be the most popular." The white boy standing next to her offered. Despite his smile the voice seemed to hold an air of defeat.

"Alright then, Beetle-san. Shall we go?"

The white boy gestured towards the door with his arm.

"After you, Haruue-san."

The pair made their way inside and took the elevator to the correct floor. As Erii let the way, the boy noticed a familiar individual resting in a wheelchair near the vending machines. He addressed the girl in front of him.

"Haruue-san, please go on ahead. I believe I saw someone that I know."

_Meanwhile, down the hall_ . . .

Kuroyoru Umidori stretched her arms and cracked her back. She would be very happy to be free of this place, it had gotten so boring lately . . .

"Now what will it be this time?" She muttered to herself and began to peer at the options the vending machine still had available. She reached out a hand to make a selection when a voice behind her made her freeze.

"Good morning, Kuroyoru-san. You are looking well."

She felt the sweat beginning to drip down the back of her neck. With a pale face she turned her head to the source of the voice.

It was Dark Matter.

She had tried to kill Fremea.

Crud.

"Yahhah!" She wheeled around with all the speed she could muster and started waving her arms at the terrifying white boy in front of her. "I didn't do anything to her this time! I swear!"

The boy chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. The girl dropped her arms in shock when she heard the next words out of his mouth.

"Actually, I wanted to thank you."

The girl's jaw dropped to the floor faster than her arms had. What the . . . ?

The boy continued "Hamazura told me what happened. I just wanted to say that I am pleased it all worked out so well."

Kuroyoru couldn't reply if she had wanted to now. . .

"Anyway that's all. I have someone I'm meeting, so I'll see you around . . . " He started walking away, but paused and called back over his shoulder before continuing on. "Good luck with that new 'target'. You are going to need it."

Kuroyoru felt herself turn crimson. She started flapping her arms like she was preparing for takeoff.

Come on, say something!

" . . . I . . . That's not . . . But you . . . I . . . NOOOOO! ! !"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_A Certain Underground Arcade; About 12:30pm._

SMASH! BAM! POW! CLANG! SMASH ! ! !

"Why? Do? I? Have? This? Stupid? LUCK?!" Mikoto yelled before landing the final blow. The boxing machine she had been mercilessly pounding registered a world record score. Right before it shuddered and broke apart with a wrenching groan into a pile of debris at her feet.

"Congratulations, Misaka-san." The words flowed out of a small white beetle seated on a nearby machine. "That makes three machines in 15 minutes. I'd warn you about the manager's wrath, but he looks too scared to come over . . ."

"QUIET!"

The two level fives were currently holed up in the underground mall's arcade after Mikoto's inadvertent dismantling of a certain vending machine a little earlier. Mikoto was now hard at work dismantling this poor arcade's more physical games. Worse yet, she could almost make herself believe that the little beetle was grinning at her. Despite its lack of face. She could feel it in her bones. It was there.

"I still can't figure out how that crane game caught fire though. I arrived at the end of that one . . . "

"I SAID QUIET!" Mikoto could feel the veins bulging in places she didn't even know she had veins. She shuddered involuntarily, but was able to restrain her temper well enough to continue in a more even voice. "And anyway, what took you so long to get here? Did you have to look for a phone booth to change in, or something?"

"I resumed this form as soon as we got to the entrance. I couldn't fly as fast as you were running." The beetle explained. "Had you been willing to carry me– "

"Not gonna happen."

" –I wouldn't have had that problem." The beetle finished.

"Why did you even turn back into a beetle anyway? Couldn't you have just made yourself look normal?" Mikoto asked, deciding that now was as good a time as any to breach the subject.

"By normal you mean . . . ?" The beetle sounded a bit offended.

"I mean _normal_. Like someone who doesn't look like a high school student who was recently attacked by the machine that draws the lines down the middle of the road."

The beetle seemed to be twitching at this point. "Lets not get into who looks like what, Misaka-san."

"Well . . .?"

The beetle made a strange sound, somewhere between a hissing and gurgling sound. While Mikoto was sure this was just a sigh of frustration, part of her was hoping something was wrong with it. It was a small part, but it was there. The beetle got a hold of itself and began making an explanation.

"By its nature, Dark Matter defies the laws of physics. Using something like that to emulate something that follows the laws like regular matter is very difficult." The beetle paused to make sure Mikoto was following. "I have tried it before and I can only get close enough so that the results are actually more unsettling than my usual lovely self."

Mikoto rolled her eyes and looked away.

"As for changing into the beetle, I would have to blame my recent hobby for making me prefer a more unobtrusive form when out in crowded public places."

"Hobby?"

"With the recent rumors to 'call for the rhinoceros beetle' when one is in trouble, I have taken up scaring the juice out of delinquents in back alleys. I should have been an actor . . . "

Mikoto was shocked. "You actually come when people call you? Anyone?"

"Of course! It's not like I'm lacking in man power or anything. At any given moment I outnumber Anti-skill, Judgment, and their reserves by at least a factor of four. I respond faster than them as well."

Mikoto wasn't sure what to make of this new, and somewhat scary, revelation. This was level 6 shift grade nightmare fuel. The beetle continued.

"So far, the conditioned response to the sight of my human form tends to be mass panic. That wasn't intentional on my part. I like quiet afternoons in the park, thank you."

Mikoto was astounded. " . . . Why?"

"Why I do it? I met some amazing people. They helped make me into something that I can finally be proud of. I'm sure you know that feeling, Misaka-san."

"I . . . do . . . " Mikoto felt increasingly lame. Why did the people that made her angriest also have to be the most awesome? The desperate need to change the subject was beginning to rear its ugly head. She jumped on the first thought that occurred to her.

"Hey, I was wondering. There are other arcades around. Some closer to where we were earlier than this one. Why did you specifically want to come to the underground mall?"

"I had my reasons . . ." the beetle replied with what could be construed as a smug tone. It was then that a new voice made its presence known to the pair of level fives.

"Onee-sama."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_A Certain Saten Residence: Around 10am._

Saten had not slept that night. She was haunted by the spiky-haired boy's words, his utter conviction, and his eyes. His eyes . . .

Saten shook her head frantically. No don't do it! Don't picture them! She then pictured Mikoto's face when they had met her in the road yesterday and shuddered.

Saten rubbed her eyes and got off the bed. She opened the door to outside and looked around. Not there. She went back in and stuck her head out the window, looking everywhere. Still nothing. She decided to try her luck. In a not too loud voice she called out:

"Beetle-san, are you there? I need to talk to someone. . . "

She paused before pulling her head back into the room. She sat down on her bed once more, hugging her legs to her chest, her chin resting on one knee. A soft tap came at the door.

"It's open."

A white boy entered the room with a serious expression. His tone was guarded and reluctant.

"Please excuse my intrusion . . ."

"Thank you, beetle-san"

The boy crossed into the room and pulling up the red chair, sat across from Saten.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Saten was silent and the beetle waited patiently. This was not something that should be rushed. He had all the time in the world.

"Why did you promise to protect us? Is it because Uiharu and I are just level one and zero?"

Saten blinked when the boy took in a deep breath and let it out as a long slow sigh. She thought the expression on his face looked pained. He turned his head and stared out the window. He was silent for some time before he spoke.

"I had no right asking Uiharu for her friendship. Not even for a second."

Saten was confused and gauged the boy as he paused, composing himself.

"And yet she accepted me fully as one of her own."

He turned back to Saten with serious eyes, the same eyes she had seen on Touma the other day.

"That is why I protect her."

Saten felt her her eyes begin to widen. Did–

"Saten-san."

"–Yes!"

"You mean the world to her. That's why I protect you."

He smiled briefly. "Kamijo-san would say that you don't need a reason, but I'm still keeping mine."

At the sound of that name Saten buried her face into her knees. She heard the boy speak once again.

"I promise I won't say anything to him."

Saten's body went rigid, her head shot upright and her face was a frantic red.

"That's!–"

The boy held up his hand to stop the coming onslaught. He smirked at the girl.

"Personally, I think it would be the best decision he ever made . . ."

"Can we talk about something else, please."

The boy sighed. "Fine then. Anything else."

The girl thought of something.

"Beetle-san, why were you so angry at Misaka-san yesterday?"

The boy looked at the ceiling and sighed. He picked his words carefully.

"Honestly, I was afraid. I thought she was going to hurt you guys."

"Why?"

The boy hesitated. "I had never met Misaka-san before. I had only heard that she frequently attacked groups of weaker individuals."

He scowled before continuing. "The attack on Kamijo-san didn't exactly put her best foot forward, either . . . "

Saten said nothing. Mikoto's attack had surprised her as well. She still didn't understand what kind of relationship they had . . . .

The boy sensed that she was at a crossroads and decided to give her time to think.

"I'll see you later, Saten-san. We'll meet at Uiharu's before heading out to visit Edasaki-san."

Saten nodded silently as the boy slowly made his way to the door. Opening it, he paused and called back to the girl on the bed.

"You still have time, Saten-san. That's one thing I learned from watching Kamijo-san."

He smiled as he pulled the door closed behind him. His words burning into Saten's ears as she fell backwards onto the bed, head just off her pillow.

"No matter what, there's always time."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_A Certain Road, near the park; Around 11:20am_

The two boys had dropped by Touma's dorm without further incident. The white boy was apparently an excellent deterrent . . .

Needless to say, Touma's freeloader was not pleased that Touma was once again leaving without her. Always practical, she let her teeth do the talking. It had taken more than a few pained promises to the tiny silver nun, but Touma was now leading the level five to the meeting with Mikoto.

The spiky-haired boy nursed his sore head. This was on top of the exhaustion he felt from the earlier events of this morning. It didn't help that the white boy had returned to his beetle form and was now riding just behind our hero's left shoulder. He never did get a straight answer from the beetle earlier, did he?

"Beetle-san?"

"Yes?"

"What took you so long this morning!?" Touma was unable to contain himself. Enough was enough.

The beetle shook slightly and Touma heard what he was sure had to be chuckling coming from his shoulder region. The beetle made a carefree response.

"It amused me, Kamijo-san."

Touma could feel his face starting to twitch.

"If I had only had a camera . . . "

Touma could feel his fingers curling into fists. MAN, he wanted to shatter that illusion . . . .

"Seriously though, Kamijo-san, if that sort of thing bothers you then you shouldn't have turned down my offer to guard you." The beetle spoke with a firm tone. "My offer still stands. Personally, after learning about your track record, I find it far more relaxing to keep you where I can see you . . . ."

"Again Beetle-san, thanks, but I don't want one. I can already hear their response if I did . . . "

" . . . Pardon?" The beetle was confused at that strangely specific reason.

"It would go like this . . . " Touma began to explain how every day would end up:

_Touma arrives in class at the start of a new day. It begins just like every other one recently . . . ._

"_Good morning, everyone . . . "_

"_Good morning, Kami-yan! Hey, is that a level five in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"_

"_I'm never happy to see you, you blue-haired freak!"_

Cut back to reality.

"_That's_ why."

There was silence for a moment, before Touma heard a clunk behind him. The Beetle had fallen from his shoulder and was belly up on the ground, its legs flailing.

"BEETLE-SAN!?"

"WAHAHAHAHAHAAA. . . snort . . . HEEEEEE ! ! !"

"ITS NOT FUNNY! THAT'S WHAT MY LIFE WOULD TURN INTO!"

Touma gritted his teeth and moved to pick up the beetle. He jerked his right hand back in realization and picked up the shuddering and giggling beetle with his left.

"Lets just go. Such misfortune . . ."

It had taken several minutes, but the beetle had finally composed itself and returned to its place on Touma's shoulder. The park was nearby now. Just one last trip through a dark alley . . .

"Hey its him!"

Crud.

"Not so big without that level five are you?" Apparently they couldn't see the beetle behind Touma's shoulder . . . .

The white beetle twitched as it started forming a plan. Maybe it could make it look like Kamijo-san had grown wings of his own?

The lead delinquent stepped forward threateningly.

"When we get through with you – ACK!" He fell to the ground as the alley was swamped by rubber bullets.

"Who is this guy? The Pope?! Run away _again_!"

The alley was once again cleared of all people save for the boy, the beetle, and the shooter.

"Is the Savior unharmed? 'asks Misaka, hoping with all her heart she was fast enough.'"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_A Certain Arcade; About 12:45pm._

Mikoto decided she was dreaming. No, perhaps nightmaring was a better word for it. Wait, was 'nightmaring' even a word? It should be. Mikoto shook her head as she felt the urge to shock someone rising with every passing moment. Only right now she couldn't pick a target.

"Onee-sama, are you feeling unwell? 'asks Misaka, while shamlessly clinging to the arm of the savior in a bid to lay a stronger claim than the others.'"

Apparently, the decision was being made for her . . .

"And what exactly is my . . . darling . . . sister doing here with that idiot?"

Touma was busy looking anywhere other than the red and sparking Railgun as he tried to put forth an explaination. "Ah well, we ran into 10032-chan on the way over here. She asked me to help her do some shopping and since I knew you would be busy, I . . . Oi, easy there!"

Touma halted with Mikoto's renewed electric show. He turned to the white beetle and stage whispered in its direction. "Beetle-san, I thought you said the two of you wouldn't be in this part of the city!"

"We needed a place to lay low after the vending machine incident." The beetle's painfully cheerful tone rang out like a doomsday siren in Touma's ears. "Since I knew you would be here, I thought it would be fun to have lunch together as a group."

Touma's face fell as he groaned. "For a nice guy, you are surprisingly cruel, beetle-san . . ."

"Hey! Don't talk in front of me like I'm not even here!" Mikoto yelled at the two boy making comically loud whispers about her.

Touma tried backing away from the living Tesla coil in front of him, but was stopped by 10032's tight grip. She tilted her head at the original.

"Onee-sama is still not being honest with herself? 'Misaka questions, while trying to understand the original's stubbornness.' Is Onee-sama a pathological liar or is her Gekota collection keeping her a preschooler?"

"SO, HOW ABOUT THAT LUNCH THEN!" Touma bellowed. He wasn't sure what scared him more. 10032's words or the fact that she had his right hand trapped in front of a raging Biri-biri.

"That's a wonderful suggestion, Kamijo-san" the Beetle said as he assumed his human form and, upon seizing her wrist, started dragging Mikoto towards the food court.

"Hey! I thought you said you wouldn't take that form in public!" Mikoto growled as she was being tugged along like a disobedient child.

"No one is around thanks to your light show, Misaka-san. Good work!" the white boy grinned, unconcerned and unaffected by the other level five's electricity.

"Misaka suggests we join them. 'Says Misaka as she anticipates hand-feeding the savior french fries in front of the original.'"

As 10032 drags him after the level fives, Touma can only think of one appropriate response to the situation he found himself in.

"Such misfortune."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_A Certain Alley, outside a popular grocery; Around 9:45am_

A certain white beetle was currently resting on a wall. It was one of many places to sit, but now it was the most important. It was the route frequented by a certain spiky-haired hero. And today that hero was the beetles ticket to ride. He just wished it was to a fun location rather than a meeting with "old sparky" by some vending machine . . .

The beetle sighed and thought to himself that the supermarket sale should be ending right about now.

As if on cue . . .

"WAAHH!" Touma came running into the alley from the right of the beetle's vision. He ran full tilt with grocery bags in each hand. He kicked open a door and ran inside. A group of six delinquents followed closely, hollering in rage.

"What!" Touma cried, bursting from a further door and raced across the alley to a door on the right side. The delinquents came pouring out of the Touma's exit door. Now numbering about twelve. They followed Touma across the alley and through the door. A moment's silence.

"Rotten!" Touma burst out of a door just beyond the one he entered and ran to the left side of the alley and slammed through another door. The delinquents following him were now on motorcycles. Huh.

"Luck!" Touma exited the door closest to the beetle's left. The delinquents were gone. He was now being chased by about a dozen _very_ happy looking young women. They followed him through the next door. All quiet now.

"SUCH MISFORTUNE! ! !" Touma screamed, now running towards the beetle from the far end of the alley, for some reason he was now carrying one of the girls from a few moments ago. She was clutching his groceries and had a look on her face like a child on Christmas morning . . . . The original six delinquents, once again on foot (?!), were close behind Touma, and gaining.

"Come back he– URK!" A set of ghostly white cables came into existence at chest level and the delinquents' momentum brought them to the ground. The beetle exploded into the alley, taking on his human form.

"It's HIM! Fall Back!"

The delinquents raced off in the direction they came. Touma sighed and shook his head as he held onto the, now fainted, random girl. He addressed the grinning white boy who was now waving at the fleeing delinquents.

"If you were going to do that anyway, why did you make me go through it all!?"

"What and spoil your fun?"

Touma felt his eyes twitch.

"Come on, Kamijo-san! I'll take the groceries." The boy cheered and grabbed the bags from the girl. Touma tilted his face up to the sky and let out a long strangled sigh.

Touma dropped the girl off at a small cafe, paid for a coffee for the unconscious individual and followed the white boy through the alleys towards his dorm.

This was turning out to be quite a day . . .

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_A Certain Food Court; Shortly after 1:00pm._

"And so, that is how Kamijo-san and I ended the Agitate Halation Project." The white boy ended with a wide flourish of his hands.

At the moment, the story-telling level five was seated on one side of a table. The resident bundle of misfortune was seated on the other, victim of a passive-aggressive tug-of-war between the two sisters. His tears were currently the result of a mixture of embarrassment (he didn't recall the part about him riding in on a white tiger to save the girl actually happening . . . ) and the current dislocation of his shoulders. He wasn't about to complain about that, though.

"Beetle-san, you're exaggerating a bit . . . "

"Not by much, though!" The white boy grinned at the other and gave a thumbs up.

Touma shuddered. He suddenly pictured a white-washed Pierce Aogami just then.

Mikoto only looked back and forth between the two boys. Had all those amazing heroics really happened when she was stuck outside with that blonde witch?

"It would make a great book, wouldn't it, Kamijo-san?"

Touma felt himself go pale at the thought. "I wouldn't care to read it."

"The Sisters are already putting in advance orders for it. 'Says Misaka, hoping to play herself in the sure-to-be upcoming film adaptation.'"

"You didn't even do anything to help!" Mikoto shouted at her double.

"Onee-sama didn't either. 'Snarks Misaka, pleased by her own simple but elegant comeback.'"

The boy between them had his forehead down on the table in front of him. " . . . Such misfortune."

The white boy smiled. He finally understood the friendship between Touma and Mikoto. It was a river that joined the sea. Something natural. It needed no explanation.

"Misaka-san, I believe I found what I set out to find today."

"Good for youuuu . . ." Mikoto said, currently locked in a mutual cheek-tugging war with her sister.

"If you don't mind, I would like to have some final words with you before I set off for the day."

" . . . Fine."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_Outside a Certain Food Court; around 1:20pm._

Mikoto stood in front of the other level five. Her sister and that idiot were visiting one last store. She felt herself looking back in that direction despite her best efforts. The white boy regarded her before making his first statement.

"I believe I understand now."

Mikoto ripped her attention away from the absent pair to focus on the boy in front of her.

"Understand what?"

"How you work, Misaka-san."

"How!? We barely talked!"

"You weren't the only one I talked to today, Misaka-san" The white boy replied with a tone some where between serene and patronizing. "All of our friends contributed."

Mikoto grumbled. The day wasn't exactly all smiles and sunshine in her opinion.

"I realized that you are a reliable friend, but more than that, I learned that even if you seem to fall too deep, you have friends that can reach in and pull you out. "

Mikoto muttered and crossed her arms. "That should be obvious . . ."

"For a level five, that is not such a simple thing. It takes amazing people, and you have them."

"Does this mean you're going to stop hanging around?" Mikoto asked and edge of hope filling her voice.

The white boy chuffed and gave the girl a wry grin. "I'm afraid not."

He pretended to not be offended by the look of disappointment on the girl's face and continued.

"I'm not asking you to trust me all at once. I know it will take time for that, but I made a vow to protect them. And I intend to do so, but you have opened my eyes to a new possibility"

Mikoto was now intrigued and waited for his next words with baited breath.

"Even monsters like us can be the one to save the smiles on our friends' faces."

Mikoto grimaced at his choice of words, but chose to ignore the insult. He did include himself in that, after all. . .

"So what are you going to do now . . . Beetle . . . san?"

"The only thing I can do now. I'll find the other monsters and, as Kamijo-san says, take their hands and lead them home from the dark, if they have no one else to do so."

"You are going to see the other level fives?"

"Yes. Any suggestions?"

Mikoto thought for a moment. The Queen was too obvious a choice. She had words she wanted to exchange with that one first. An idea popped into her head.

"How about that headband wearing idiot?"

"The number seven?"

Mikoto could feel herself growing excited.

"Yeah! You can even tell him that we need a rematch to decide our last duel!"

The white boy sighed and began to dissolve away into nothingness.

"Very well, I'll pass that along. Until next time, Misaka-san."

Mikoto grinned like a predator at the now empty corridor and turned back to where her sister and that idiot were holed up.

"I'll be ready, Beetle-san."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_A certain Tokiwadai dorm room; about 4:37am._

_The fist had made contact with the dimensional shift threatening to bring the building down on her head. The sound of shattering glass marked its destruction as though the threat was a mere fragile annoyance to the boy. She felt herself being held in his arms like a princess. She weakly looked up to his kind and determined face._

"_What are you?" she heard herself ask._

"_I promise to protect the world around you" he said as his head slowly dropped to meet hers. She felt her eyes falling closed, lips beginning to pucker in anticipation of his own. His sweet, kind lips._

"AAH!" Kuroko screamed as she was wrenched from a restless sleep.

Her nightgown and sheets were soaked with a cold sweat. She shivered once and looked over at her roommate's still sleeping face. The face of her Onee-sama framed by the moonlight.

She could still feel the pull as she gazed upon it. It was no different from how it always was. Not a grain diminished, that last glance was proof of that. Then what were these dreams?

She pulled herself to a sitting position and hugged her knees to her chest. She shivered one last time and whispered into the dark.

"What's wrong with me . . . ?"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Authors Note:

Uh-oh, Kuroko's feeling the disease . . .

Now before anyone feels the need to flame, here is a little spoiler: Think Wrathie Winsre meets 'My Fair Lady'. Backwards.

Just for reference there are three intertwined story arcs in this chapter. Kakine and Mikoto; Kakine and Touma; and Everyone else. The first arc is going forward through time. The other two are going backwards.

Please don't ask why that is. It . . . became . . . as it was being written.

I'm sure some of you will think that Mikoto's and Kakine's argument was a bit one sided, but I think Mikoto got in the best line of this fan fic . . . .

And yes, Kakine is telling Mikoto that there are thousands upon thousands of him crawling around the city. Scary, yes?

We now know that Kakine wants to save the other level fives. Starting with Sogiita Gunha.

Next chapter, we will see how he deals with the Master Gemstone.

No promises for its release. Here's to hoping it will be within two weeks . . .

:::::::::::::::::::::

Chapter Commentary:

Thank you to all my Reviewers!

Silverfang88: Glad to see you enjoyed the story order! I didn't plan on writing it that way, believe it or not, it took form by itself . . . . The chapters to follow may be similar in form, Gunha's and the Number Six's being the most likely.

As for the Trolling, Kakine is mostly doing that to Mikoto and Touma, but for different reasons. He finds Mikoto irritating and that's the reason he's working on (Jealousy?). As for Touma, I think Kakine believes he is a masochist of some kind, in denial. So why fight it?

Kuroyoru was a -very- late addition and I am very glad I included her.

Shinypichu88: Glad you enjoyed! I have a feeling it will be continuing, but it will probably become lighter and more mutual as they learn to trust each other.

Azure Heart: Kakine is shipping them too . . . . Funny thing about Kongou, I decided to add her into the story just this morning. Then I read your review. Get out of my Head!

ArmoredCoreNineBall: The shipping teases in the next few chapters will be truly epic . . . ;-)

And Finally, To my remaining reviewers: Thank you! Here's to you: Nyan-chan; Loki; Guest; Jerico Cross; Darkbringer; and all prior chapter reviewers!

Best wishes, now lets get writing! Wrathie Winsre, I'm looking in your direction . . . .


	4. A SYSTEM in Insanity

**He will Surely Save, Part 4: A SYSTEM in Insanity**

**I do not own the RAILDEX universe.**

**Author's Note:**

Greetings All!

Sorry it took some time for this part to come out. I hope the lengthness will make up for the anticipation.

I would like to once again thank all of you who have chosen to like, follow, and review. It keeps me going!

The plot lines in this part are linear in time, unlike the last part. Everything is interwoven though, so stay sharp!

The plot takes place the day after the last part. It is Monday, the day of the system scans. I'm taking liberties with how they work, but I think you will find it to be mostly satisfying . . .

Anyway, On with the show!

**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

Monday.

It was Monday.

The system scans were underway and a young women with pale red hair tied in twin-tails was standing by herself. She could feel the sweat rolling off of her slender body as she remains motionless there, just outside the testing area on the field. Her scan concluded, but she still remained. Her head was tilted towards the ground. There was no one else around at the moment. She was thankful.

"Greetings, my dear Shirai-san."

Kuroko flinched. Never mind, she was not thankful.

A tall dark-haired girl with the air of nobility had entered the field and continued to speak to her rival.

"Now Shirai-san, with such a lack of enthusiasm you can hardly expect to be taken seriously as my rival. Have you finally realized my superiority in all things esper?" Kongou teases and snaps her fan open to hid her grin. The grin faded quickly.

Kuroko made no response. She had yet to meet her friend slash rival's eyes. Kongou leaned in a little closer to the other girl.

"Shirai?"

"At the moment, I am in a slightly odd mood." Kuroko finally spoke to her friend in all but name. Her gaze remained fixed on the ground. "I teleported something 90 meters today . . ."

Kongou raised an eyebrow behind her fan and questioned the sullen girl. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"I inverted the given directions and nearly took the head off of the instructor. She was 90 meters away."

Now, Kongou was feeling herself go pale at this revelation. Her hand shook the fan in front of her face as she asked the obvious question.

"Are they going to kick you out?"

"No, the instructor was delighted."

"!?" Kongou didn't know her eyes could get that large . . .

"She said the range increase was unprecedented in my record and that she didn't really need those bangs . . ."

Kongou stepped back from her friend a little.

"It's _his_ fault" Kuroko wispered.

"Pardon?" Kongou struggled to hear only to flinch backwards again when Kuroko raised her head, the dark circles below her eyes now visible. She shouted towards the heavens.

"That GENTLEMAN! It's his fault! He wouldn't let me get any sleep last night! GAAHH!"

Kongou felt her jaw drop, where it hung for several seconds before she was able to compose herself. She felt the sweat begin to roll down her forehead as she set her fan in a frenzied motion to try to calm her nerves. Kuroko's gaze had returned to the ground by the time Kongou was able to respond.

"I . . . hope you used protec–"

"WHAT ! !"

Kongou jumped backwards and toppled to the ground at the sight of Kuroko's blazing red eyes. She tried to scoot away and the other girl took an unsteady step towards her.

"He wasn't anywhere near our dorm." Kuroko was a seething mass of black clouds. "And yet he was there. INSIDE MY HEAD! ! !"

Kuroko fell to her hands and knees. She shook slightly, but stopped and continued in a quiet tone. It was almost conversational, and that was what sent the ice down Kongou's spine.

"If it was Onee-sama, I could understand that. The look on her face at night when she says his name in her sleep is enough to make someone jump in a lake." She paused, a thoughtful look crossed her face. "Me? Incomprehensible."

"Shirai-san . . ." Kongou tried to put her hand on the other girls shoulder, but Kuroko sat up and looked her dead in the eyes.

"What kind of man is this? To have my friends surround such a power . . ." Kuroko tilted her head and continued, her words dumbfounding the other girl. "Can I even trust myself now?"

That was enough. Kongou nearly leaped to her feet and pointed her closed fan at the girl. "NO!"

Kuroko blinked at the random outburst from her rival. Kongou gestured her fan towards the sky and began to lecture.

"I won't have such words coming from my arch-rival. If this man is bothering you, then I, Kongou Mitsuko, will help you learn the truth behind him."

Kuroko felt strangely heartened. "Kongou-san . . . Thank you."

"It's fine." Kongou snapped open her fan and resumed a more lady-like tone. "Now then, should we invite Misaka-san to come along?"

"I don't think so, Onee-sama seemed particularly enthused about the system scans today . . ."

"How enthused?"

Abruptly, Kongou was sent to the ground, along with all the other nearby students standing around the field, by a series of enormous, and uncomfortably nearby explosions.

BooBooBooBooBoomBoom**BOOM**! ! !

The water from what used to be the school pool rained down and soaked all those present. The familiar voice of a certain scientific railgun could just be heard over the ringing in their ears.

"Lets see him stop THAT!"

Kuroko got up from her kneeling position and turned to Kongou.

"_That_ enthused."

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Elsewhere in the city, a young woman stood alone in the room. Some would call her rough looking, others would describe her as an unpolished gem waiting to be brought into her own. It is likely that this young woman would pay such words no mind. She had everything she needed.

The room itself was not very notable. Bigger that a large bedroom, but nowhere near as big as a small classroom, it was where she, and others like her, spent much of her time. There were a few tables, some with computers that glowed softly in the rooms dim light, but she paid them no mind. Her attention was focused on the room's defining feature. A life-sized picture of a boy.

The girl drifted towards the picture with her eyes taking on a softness that was rarely shown to the others who frequented this room. Her hand reached out and gently traced the strong lines of the boy's face. A face which was set in a determined expression. Those Eyes.

So easily lost in those eyes . . .

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:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::

It was Monday, but she really couldn't complain. Well, not too much anyway . . .

A slender dark-haired girl was standing next to a fountain on a path that led away from her school. She wore a simple and unassuming school uniform which was accessorized by the addition of a white beetle clipped to her skirt and a field of flowers on her head. She was currently engrossed in the contents of a white sheet of paper.

It was then that the feeling of foreboding fell over her . . .

"U! I! Ha– WHAAAA!" A girl with long dark hair screamed in mid-cheer when a pair of ghostly white hands appeared from the ground behind her and mercilessly flipped her skirt to the sky.

Saten flipped her skirt back down to cover herself as quickly as she was able. Balling her fists, she hollered at the beetle clipped to her friends skirt.

"BEETLE-SAN!"

A smoothly polite voice floated out of the charm.

"Sorry Saten-san, but I promised Uiharu-san that I would do that to you at least once . . ."

"I can die happy now!" The flower-headed girl in question chirped, folding her hands in glee.

Saten crossed her arms and looked away, she muttered under her breath. "That beetle is going to have to sleep sometime . . ."

The beetle then muttered right back. "You'll be up awhile then . . ."

"So anyway, how was your system scan?" Saten asked her friend, pointing to the sheet of paper in her hand.

"It went pretty well actually." Uiharu waved the paper and grinned "I'm still a level one, but my AIM output increased 5% from last time. That's not the best part though . . ."

Saten leaned in, now held in suspense by her flowery friend. "My power doesn't require me to make physical contact now!"

Saten felt herself grin broadly and she clapped a hand on to her friend's shoulder "That's awesome Uiharu! What's your distance then?"

"3 millimeters!"

Saten felt her face start to tighten. She wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or cry. She felt like she could go either way right now . . .

"Thats . . . amazing . . . "

"I know, right! " Uiharu was practically hopping in excitement. "So how did yours go? I heard they had you re-submit."

"That's right. They couldn't believe it so they made me do it twice." Saten reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper matching Uiharu's own. "I'm still a level zero, but . . . "

She handed the paper to her friend. Uiharu unfolded it while the white beetle crawled up onto her shoulder to get a better look.

"My AIM field level increased 32.6%, can you believe that!"

" . . . is . . . is this real?" Uiharu could only blink in disbelief at the readout. MAN, it looked official!

"Of course it's real. Why? What's wrong with it?"

Saten started to shift from one foot to the other at the sight of her friends' reactions, her arms tightening around her chest. Uiharu was standing with her mouth slowly opening and closing like a fish pulled from the ocean. The beetle wasn't doing much better, silently twitching on Uiharu's shoulder like it was being subject to random electric shocks. Seriously, what was the problem?

"Um . . . guys?"

"Saten-san. This beats my highest normalized gain and I'm the number two level five. For a level zero to go up this much is like watching someone try to jump over a puddle and then having them land across the pacific!"

Saten froze. What.

"What."

Uiharu turned to her friend with eyes so wide that Saten thought they were going to pop out of her head.

"Misaka-san told me her highest gain was 45% back when she was a level 4. That was the month that she achieved level five. That was the only time her score exceeded a 30% increase."

"What."

"This is big, Saten-san" the beetle spoke up, voice wavering as it sought the correct words. "The only person I have ever known making gains that exceed this is the number one!"

For Saten, day became night as she fell backwards. The frantic cries of Uiharu went unheard as her body neared the ground. All was silent.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"_That's_ Kamijo-san?"

"Yes, what is he doing now?"

"Playing hopscotch with some pre-schoolers . . . Now he's giving directions to some girl."

"That makes five."

"He just saved a kitten from being run over! Is he a saint!?"

"I hope the bar's a little higher than that . . . "

Kongou wasn't sure what to think. With the help of Kuroko's teleportation powers they were currently on a roof in the district where a certain high school was located. They had found the boy and were currently watching him from above. Or at least Kongou was. Kuroko had more or less given up after the third girl needed directions. She was sitting with her back against the building's facade, eyes closed.

"How long have we been sitting here, Shirai-san?" Kongou asked the other girl.

"About thirty minutes. He's a busy little bee, isn't he?" A smooth male voice floated from the other side of her.

"AHH!" Kongou cried out and fell backwards onto the roof. The slim pure-white boy caught the fan she had reflexively thrown at him.

"Hello, Beetle-san." Kuroko stated without enthusiasm. She had been wondering when he was going to show up.

"Shirai-san. So, have you girls been enjoying your Kamijo stalking?" The white boy asked while he tossed the fan back to Kongou. With a clumsy flailing of her hands, she managed to catch it before it hit the ground.

"No more than you, Beetle-san" Kuroko replied, dismissing the boy's goading with a wave of the hand. The white boy frowned slightly, but said nothing. He turned to the girl he surprised a moment ago.

"I don't believe we have been introduced. I am Kakine Teitoku, number two level five. Judging by the uniform I'm going to guess you are one of Misaka-san's barnacles . . ."

The shock of randomly meeting another level five left Kongou unable to refute the insult. Part of her was also wondering at the degree of truth in the statement. Kuroko on the other hand was more than willing to take up the slack.

"How dare you compare Onee-sama to the hull of a poorly maintained ship! Her graceful curves notwithstanding, I can gladly attest to the lack of blemishes on her supple skin!"

"I should have realized that. Barnacles generally don't have barnacles of their own . . ."

"What."

"She really should have chosen a boat more in her own league . . ."

" . . . You talking splatter of bird excrement."

"Underweight excuse for a real woman . . ."

That did it. Kuroko brushed her hands past her skirt and brought the nails to eye level before catching herself. She took a deep breath and slid the nails back into their holders. She set a hard eye on the grinning Kakine and calmly spoke her mind.

"I know what you're trying to do, Beetle-san. It won't work."

The boy only grinned wider. "Nothing but the best for my dearest Shirai-san . . . "

Kongou's frantic voice broke into the pair's verbal sparing. They turned to see the cause of the commotion. She pointed down towards street level.

"Kamijo-san is in an alley with a bunch of thugs! I think he stopped them from mugging that boy there. We have to do something!"

A calm, somewhat forgettable voice spoke up from behind the trio.

"So Kamijo-san is unlocking the forbidden route? Setting flags with no blind-spots? How troublesome."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Saten felt her eyes pulling open with reluctance. The light on the other side of them was bright and she didn't welcome its intrusion. Through the fog and cobwebs within her head, she heard voices growing slowly louder. They seemed so familiar . . .

" –nk she's coming around, now. I'm so glad you were able to catch her, Beetle-san!"

"Luckily, I was in pole position at the time. It wasn't a problem."

Saten finally allowed her eyes to open and focus on the world around her. She found her head was resting in Uiharu's lap. She caught the concerned look in her friend's eye and smiled.

"Sorry to scare you guys. The news was . . . a bit much to take . . ."

"I could have worded my thoughts a bit better as well" the white boy stated, scratching his head while avoiding her eyes.

"Was what you said really true, Beetle-san?" Uiharu asked as she helped Saten return to a standing position and began to dust her off.

"It was, but the gains are _normalized_ gains. The actual power output differences are orders of magnitudes different. The percentage is based on deviation from a running mean of past system scan results."

The white boy looked at Saten and wondered.

"Just out of curiosity, what have your gain percentages been in the past?"

Saten hesitated. "Around 1% usually . . ."

The boy nodded in an understanding way. "That sounds about right. Level zeros and ones rarely exceed 5%"

Saten blinked. It was true. None of her friends ever exceeded 3%, Uiharu being the possible exception. The Tokiwadai group notwithstanding, obviously. The fact clear in her mind led her to wonder.

"What's normal for the other levels."

Uiharu took the opportunity to show off her knowledge of the subject, depressing though it may be for her . . .

"Ah, level twos and threes usually make gains about 10% and level fours and fives are closer to 20%. As Beetle-san says the difference in power is enormous, but the greater reality externalization of these levels makes it far easier for an individual to imagine greater gains."

"Picking up from what Uiharu said, since your power is non-demonstrative, it makes your gain somewhat disturbing. You haven't lost time or heard any strange sound waves recently ha–"

Saten stormed up to the boy with fire in her eyes and fingers digging into her palms, so tight were her fists.

"Are you asking me if I used level upper again?! I'm not THAT STUPID ! ! !"

The boy immediately put up his hands in a defensive posture. "I didn't mean to imply that it was intentional on your part. Seriously!"

"Have you been doing anything out of the ordinary or noticed anything unusual?"

Saten firmly shook her head. "My routine hasn't changed for months. The only thing unusual are . . ."

She trailed off. Uiharu and the white boy tilted their heads in anticipation.

" . . . are the dreams. I have been having some . . . vivid . . . dreams lately. . . "

Saten turned her head away from her friends, mostly from Uiharu. From where he stood, the boy could see the color blooming on her cheeks and a glazing of her expression. Uiharu on the other hand was initially confused. This was gradually being replaced by a sense of the other girl's reason for discomfort. The look of mischief pulling across the flower-headed girl's lips spurred the boy to action.

"We can think about causality later." he began to wave his hand in Uiharu's face, distracting her from her increasingly R-rated thoughts. Seriously, it's always the quiet ones . . .

He continued. "This calls for a celebration! And what is the proper form of a celebration?"

"CAKE!" The girls chorused. One in excitement, the other in relief at the beetle boy's distraction.

The boy returned to his spot, clipped to Uiharu's skirt, while the girls took off running. There was a new cake and tea shop they hadn't tried yet, right?

Saten muttered quietly at the beetle. "I owe you one . . ."

She was unsettled by the nearly inaudible reply.

"I'll be expecting details later . . . ."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"HAWAHH!"

The trio of Kongou, Kuroko, and the pure white boy nearly toppled off the roof trying to find the source of the intruding voice. When they finally managed to face the correct direction, a strange sight was theirs to behold. A Miko.

"I can't say I approve of the erotic game his life is becoming. My competition just appears to have been doubled . . . "

A young woman with lustrous long black hair had crept up behind them, wearing red and white robes and bearing a sack filled to the brim with burgers. Her expression was cool and seemingly unaffected by the chaos brought on by her sudden appearance.

" . . . Burger?"

Kongou, surprisingly, was the first to recover her wits. "Who are you? Where did you come from?"

"As soon as you look away, you will forget I was ever here. Then Silence will fall. That's how it works apparently." The girl stated, the lids of her eyes seeming heavy for a moment. "Regardless, I am a friend of Kamijo-san."

"I doubt that." Kakine broke in. "I would have noticed you."

"We have been introduced twice, Beetle-san . . ."

Kakine then paused, a look of concentration on his face.

"Nope, I'm pulling a blank here."

"You're despicable."

Kongou started to wave her arms frantically, seeking the others' attention.

"Have you all forgotten about Kamijo-san!?" She pointed down into the alley. "The boy he was protecting just fled!"

The miko put a finger to her chin in a thoughtful gesture. "I guess they don't make blind-spots like they used to . . ."

Kuroko quickly shifted into battle mode. "Never mind, we'll go and save him be–"

She was cut off by an explosion that shocked the building's foundation. They picked themselves up and rushed over to the edge to get a better look into the alley. They were shocked to see the muggers huddled behind Touma, who with right arm outstretched, was facing down another boy wearing a white headband. Kakine could only grin.

"_There_ you are . . ."

"It's that boy that Onee-sama picked a fight wi– I mean, 'challenged to a duel'. What's he doing here?"

"He's being convenient. Now for Kamijo-san . . ."

Kakine's white arms stretched to the street below, seizing Touma and pulling the bewildered boy up onto the roof. The white boy dissolved away and reappeared in a blossom of white where Touma had stood a moment earlier. The aforementioned boy the turned to regard his trio of new companions.

"Oi . . . Himegami. How are things?"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::

A lesser man would have been floored by the sudden appearance of the pure white boy that blossomed into existence upon the abrupt skyward exit that Touma had taken. Sogiita was a field onto himself, however, and such entrances did nothing but bring a light into his eyes.

"Gutsy exploding entrances never go out of style! Don't follow the pack! Show the ones who changed you they were right all along!"

" . . . What?" Kakine stood blinking at the outburst from the headband wearing boy. Said boy then gave the pure white boy a thumbs up.

"In a land of fluffy bunnies, a giant robot shall be king! But there must be regicidal bunnies somewhere to surpass them. WITH GUTS!"

At that moment, the young man that had fled the alley returned, flailing his arms. He stopped next to the lunatic and started yelling.

"Sogiita-san, you idiot! Do you know who this is?" He pointed to the other level five.

Sogiita put his hand on his chin in a thoughtful gesture before snapping his fingers. "This is obviously someone who was attacked by the machine that draws the lines down the middle of the road! And yet he still has the guts to walk around with his head held high!"

_Man_, Kakine was happy Mikoto was not present to hear the other boy say that just now.

The boy began to make a choking gesture with his hands before he was able to get the violent twitching in his right eye back to its normal levels. "Sogiita-san . . . "

"Yes, Yabumi-kun?"

The boy pointed at the also twitching pure white boy currently separating them from the former muggers. "This is the number two level five, DARK MATTER!"

"That's amazing! That said, if it's dark, how come I can see it?"

"NRRRNG–" The young man, Yabumi apparently, reached up to throttle the headband wearer, before abruptly breaking off and storming over to the white boy and pointing backwards. "YOU talk to him!"

"You think I'll have any better luck with this psychotic freak?!" The boy buried his face in his hands. "This is like reasoning with a drunken Kamijo-san on steroids."

"Who needs alcohol when you've got guts?!"

Kakine abruptly turned around to face the huddling former-muggers behind him. They flinched under his gaze. He addressed them as calmly as he was able to at the moment. "Listen up. I'm feeling generous for some reason, so I'm letting you all go."

The white boy pointed out of the alley. The former muggers as a group looked up at him with a uniform sense of relief and no small amount of shock.

"**I SAID GO!**"

The outburst brought the delinquents to their feet and running. The white boy waved them out with a dismissive gesture as they hurried past them. He heard the other level five cheering them on.

"Absolved, young lambs! Go and sin no more!"

"I can't believe you don't shut up!" Yabumi shouted, throwing his arms to the sky as if begging for his own release.

Kakine rubbed his forehead and turned back to the pair. He never would have believed it, but he was really starting to miss Misaka Mikoto . . .

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Kongou was flabbergasted. The boy didn't even seem phased by the events that he had just undertaken. Not to mention being randomly pulled up onto a roof in the middle of a fight. Who was this boy?

"Everything is fine, Kamijo. Been raising more flags I see . . ." The stealth miko replied to the boy's earlier question.

Touma was confused. "What flags? This Kamijo Touma is completely devoid of encounters."

He even believed it.

The girls on the other hand showed one of two reactions. Kongou merely allowed her jaw to drop for the umpteenth time that day. Kuroko and Himegami took the more active approach. Each one picked a side and sent a fist into the bromeliad that boy called a head.

"OW! What was that for!?" Touma complained, rubbing some feeling back into the sore spots on his rock-like skull.

"Possession of a density greater than lead, Kamijo."

Kuroko felt her twin-tails writhing beside her head. "How dare you trivialize Onee-sama's downright comical obsession with you!"

" . . . Pardon?" Touma was blinking like he was just asked for the square root of negative pi. Brain broken and blinky.

Kongou meanwhile was having a rather strange conversation with herself. There wasn't much to hear, besides the occasional words she muttered aloud in barely audible whispers, her eyes cast downwards and focused on her shoes.

"He . . . Misaka . . . Saintly . . . Hopscotch-pre-schooler-kitten-HATCHBACK . . . Misaka-Onee-sama-CORDLESS-TELEPHONE!" (?!)

Kongou's head snapped up and she dashed over to the spiky-haired boy. She grabbed his wrists with a frightening grip and nearly knocked her forehead into his. The manic look on her face drained the blood from Touma's

"You're perfect for her!" The tall girl yelled into his face, apparently forgetting her noble upbringing . . .

The other two girls could only stand frozen in position as Kongou continued.

"The evidence has been made clear! I, Kongou Mitsuko, will support your bid to win Misaka-san's heart."

"Um . . . What?" Touma meekly asked, trying to back away. The girl's grip was like a pair of warm handcuffs. Kongou kept right in step with his retreat.

"I admit I was skeptical at first, but a book isn't its cover. Now that I have seen it all, Kuroko's whining finally makes sense. You are Misaka-san's one and true!"

Kuroko was now trembling. The feeling was an incomprehensible blend of rage, embarrassment, and something suspiciously like jealousy . . . .

Himegami was scowling at the girl currently filling Touma's head with unnecessary flags. In one smooth motion she removed a burger from her bag, unwrapped it, and handed it to Kuroko. Without a word, Kuroko took it.

"Now let us all retire to some place quiet so we can plan your future with Mis–MURF!"

A burger appeared stuffed into her mouth. Kongou fell to her knees and began to cough when she manged to extract it a few moments later. She jumped to her feet, raging at the resident teleporter.

"Shirai-san! I could have lost my face!"

"You needn't worry, Kongou-san. Your mouth is a rather large target . . ."

Kuroko was feeling a bit better and ignored the incoherent ramblings and flailing arms of her rival. She looked over the edge and into the alley again.

"Ah, It looks like Beetle-san is waving the muggers out of the alley. I think it's about time we headed back. I have a re-scan coming up this afternoon."

She turned to look at the miko.

"We can take you– What!? She's gone!"

The girls started to frantically look about for the absent girl.

"Did She fall off the roof?" Kongou was panicking, when another thought hit her. "IS SHE A GHOST?!"

Touma raised his eyebrows in disbelief at that jump to conclusions. "Himegami went down the stairs over there. She left right after the burger incident."

"There were stairs?!"

"Yes, that's probably how she got up here in the first place if you didn't bring her yourselves . . . "

The girls felt like slamming their heads against the nearest wall. _That's_ how she got here?! Where's the romance in _that_?!

"Whatever, We need to leave." Kuroko stated, ushering the others to the stairs. "We can rejoin her on the street if she's still down there. Kamijo-san, would you like to accompany us back?"

Touma scratched his head. Why not?

"Sure Shirai-san. They've given up scanning me anyway . . . "

Kongou took his arm and began to drag him along. "Wonderful Kamijo-san! Perhaps we can make a few appointments for you on the way. A tailor might be good. OH! I think I have a hairstylist that can deal with your problem! Lets Go!"

Touma looked appalled. He was starting to think he would prefer just being shocked by a girl from Tokiwadai . . .

"Such Misfortune . . . " He muttered below his breath.

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The young woman in the anonymous room pulled her hand away from the the picture when she heard another person entering. She turned to the door and greeted her senior.

"Ikari-senpai. Do we have the authorization?"

He nodded and turned to the picture in front of the young woman.

"Myuri-chan, What do we know of this Kamijo Touma?"

The young woman fixed her eyes on the face of the boy in the picture.

"He was the first of our own . . . "

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::

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By the time the trio of Touma, Kuroko and Kongou had made their way down to street level, they found that Himegami had finished all but her final burger. Upon seeing Touma being led by the arm, she stood up from her seat on the bench and grabbed the arm opposite Kongou. She gave a firm tug, knocking the pair off balance. Sensing trouble brewing, Kuroko chimed in.

"My-my . . . Kamijo-san, if you keep playing around like that we'll be late."

She teleported in front of him and seized his wrist, tugging him along behind her at a brisk pace. This left the pair with conflicting expressions, Kongou merely confused and Himegami with gritted teeth and fists of forgettable rage . . .

While the girls struggled to keep up with Kuroko's determined pace, Touma remembered her earlier remarks and decided to satisfy his curiosity.

"Shirai-san, you said you need to report for a re-scan, right?"

"I'm afraid so."

Touma hesitated before continuing. "But doesn't that imply your first scan showed a major drop in power?

Kuroko froze mid-step and took a deep breath before she continued her forward march.

"Yes, I tested a 4.24% lower normalized power output than my last system scan."

"That's it?" Kamijo couldn't believe that. His school would wait for a 25% drop before they even bothered.

"You don't have to worry Shirai-san. I've always been impressed by your powers." He began to console the teleporter not noticing the color growing on her cheeks or the way her lips trembled with every word he spoke. "You are one of those people we can depend on. If I ever really got in trouble, you are someone I would be thankful to have wi– OW! Shirai-san, you're crushing my wrist!"

Kuroko let go of the boy like his skin was molten metal and took several steps forward before stopping. Without turning her head, she called back to him.

"I haven't been sleeping, Kamijo-san, that's all."

"Then everything's going to be fine. Kuroko Shirai won't let something as simple as that get in the way!" Touma raised a fist to eye level and loudly proclaimed to the heavens: "I know that by tomorrow, you'll be back to stealing Biri-biri's underwear and all will be right with the world!"

At first his admonishment was met with silence, Touma was alarmed as she began to shake. He leaned forward, but jumped back when she erupted in gales of laughter and bent over clutching her ribs.

Kongou and Himegami shared a glance while the girl composed herself, wiping the corners of her eyes before she finally replied to the boy's statement with a wide and sincere smile crossing her face.

"Thank you, Kamijo-san. I really needed that."

With that she waved the others to follow and once again they set off towards Tokiwadai.

The remaining trip was largely uneventful and they soon reached the gates to the School Garden. Kuroko and Kongou bid the other pair farewell and entered, but they failed to notice that a blond girl sharing their uniform had pulled Touma into a tea shop, with a furious Himegami not far behind . . . .

Kongou snapped her fan and regarded the teleporter. "Well, Shirai-san, it seems your mood has improved."

"I suppose so, Kongou-san. I think I'm starting to understand why Onee-sama gets so fired up every time he runs off." Kuroko ignored the other girl's raised eyebrows and continued. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a re-scan to ace!"

The girl then disappeared into thin air, leaving Kongou by herself. The noble girl smiled behind her fan.

"I think I need to get Wanai-san and Awatsuki-san to help with the planning. This is going to be BIG!"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::

Kakine was having a _great_ day . . .

"Now that I think about it, are tropical fruits nuts?"

A _wonderful_ day . . .

"Where the angel falls, so too must the temple. With guts!"

It was going to go down as one of his best . . .

"I don't need a little sister with a thousand faces. Do you hear me, White Matter?"

"DARK MATTER!"

Yep, today was right up there with that day he met the number one.

"Are you afraid to take the raisins from your cookie?"

The white boy's head snapped up to attention. "What?"

"Don't be. You just have to trust your raisins to be better than they used to be."

Sogitta was standing with a focused and disturbingly serious expression. After everything he had been spouting up until now, it seemed particularly unsettling. Yabumi stepped forward and started waving his hands in the headband boy's face. He turned to address the other level five.

"Sorry, he does this sometimes" He turned back and leaned in. "Sogiita. Sogiita-san. Come back. Guts? What about guts? You remember guts, right . . . ?"

Sogiita blinked for a second before a large grin crossed his face.

"I'm back!" He shoved a hand into his pocket. "And I've brought presents for all!"

Yabumi grabbed his arm before it could be moved.

"Sogiita-san. I don't know what you're about to pull out of your pants, but I know this: None of us want it."

The pure white boy waved to get the attention of the other two. This was turning into a bigger chore than he had anticipated.

"Number seven. I have been looking for you–"

"You're looking for me? That's a pretty gutsy admission! I'm flattered, but I'm not like that . . ."

"That isn't the reason!" the white boy balled his fists for a moment, before he was able to finally relax them and continue. "I have taken it upon myself to visit each of the level fives. Today is you."

Sogiita's eyes lost focus, he stood very still. "So, in this darkness, we finally see. Nothing is left for us . . . "

". . . uh . . . " The white boy looked at Yabumi who shrugged. He was just as bewildered.

"Alone . . . in the field . . . we play alone . . . in the field . . . we play . . . alone, in the darkness . . . "

" . . . number seven . . .?"

"She's so strong inside. Why doesn't she know? She needs to know . . . "

"Sogiita Gunha!"

The boy's head turned like it was on ball bearings to meet the other's eyes. Kakine stepped back, his arms raised defensively. He stayed silent.

"What ever will happen, let us stay happy. Let us stay fine."

A wide grin suddenly pulled apart the lips of the headband wearing boy. "Excelsior!"

The boy spun and vanished in a cloud of colored smoke trailing from his running form. Yabumi shook his head and sighed.

"Not again . . ." He took off running after the erstwhile subject of their attention. "You better start running. He gets like this sometimes."

The white boy easily kept pace with the other, people on the sidewalk parted at the sight of them. Not that the smoking rocket didn't give them plenty of incentive. The level five shouted at his new companion.

"Were is he going?!"

"No idea. One time, I found him two hours later. He was directing traffic on the other side of the city."

"Seriously?!"

Yabumi gave a weary glance to the white boy running next to him.

"Welcome to my world . . ."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::

It was that grin. The grin that usually only the sight of her sleeping Onee-sama's face could bring about, but this time that grin was in the process of leering at a sheet of paper.

"Shirai-san?" the voice of a certain noble girl with acres of forehead real estate spoke up from behind.

"Hehehehehe . . . nothing but the best indeed!"

"Um . . . I take it the scan went well . . ." Kongou approached the teleporter hesitantly.

"YaaaaaaaaaaaHAAAH!" Kuroko shoved the paper into Kongou's face. Final score: 20.102% improved from scan average.

Ignoring the less than lady-like behavior, Kongou grabbed her friend by the shoulders. "Congratulations! Kamijo-san was right, you really know how to turn around your situation!"

Kuroko buried her face in the results paper, ignoring the heat rising in her cheeks. She muttered under her breath, excitement edging every word. "Kamijo and Onee-sama will be so proud . . . I can't wait to show them!"

"Well then, why don't we all go out to celebrate! Our tea shop is nearby. I'll see if my group is available." Kongou pulled out her cell phone to call her friends and Kuroko did likewise.

With the calls completed the girls waited for the available member of their party to arrive. In no time at all, Mikoto bounced in to meet them. She was grinning from ear to ear and almost seemed to be floating. Her voice rang out with a singing tone.

"Greetings, all! What a lovely day!"

"Indeed, Misaka-san. I take it your scans went well. It felt like it earlier . . ."

Mikoto put a thumbs up in Kongou's face. "I broke eight scanners and discovered an underground cavern system below the school pool! My personal best!"

"Uh . . . how wonderful . . ." Kongou took a slight step back. "anyway, we plan to go out for tea, are you available?"

"You Bet!" She then turns to Kuroko. "Have you called Uiharu and Saten?"

"They have their phones off. Have you called Kamijo-san, Onee-sama?"

"Wha– Why would I call that idiot!?" Mikoto yelled and turned her head away from the others. Kuroko grinned at her bright red face.

"Now now, Onee-sama. We both know the end result, so why fight it?"

"GAH! Fine, I'll call! Why are you so eager, anyways?"

That sent Kuroko into a shade of red to match her Onee-sama's. She stood unmoving while Mikoto made the call. The railgun shook her head in frustration after a few seconds.

"No answer. How about you, Kongou-san?"

"I got a hold of Winai-san. Their club is having a late practice, but they will try to meet up with us later this afternoon."

The railgun was unperturbed. "We'll plan for that, then. We can try calling the others later. Now, cake time!"

Kuroko was pleased. She couldn't remember seeing Onee-sama so fired up. She felt a wide smile blossoming on her face.

"After cake, I'll smash that headband wearing idiot into the ground! Then it's right on to misfortune-boy! YAHOO! ! !"

Kuroko felt her face drop. She had forgotten this little aspect of her Onee-sama for a moment . . . .

She turned to Kongou with something like defeat in her voice. "So, Kongou-san. Do you want to wager how much of the city is going to end up in flames? 50,000 yen says we will have to change schools . . . "

"No Deal."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::

The shop was magnificent. It was an intimate location with an aura of gentility. The greatest aspects of the old world without diminishing a welcoming feeling to all those that entered. A kind, attentive staff showed them to their table and took their orders. The girls never felt more like proper ladies . . .

"Ahh, this is what life is meant to be like . . . " Uiharu was glittering in joy. Not since the visit to Tokiwadai did she feel so alive.

"She's in her own little world isn't she?" Saten addressed the small white beetle on the table.

"We'll let her have her fun for the time being. We don't get out enough as it is . . . "

"Speaking of that, are you sure you don't want anything, Beetle-san?"

The beetle waved in a dismissive gesture with its tiny limb.

"No, I'm fine. While this body is capable of eating, it isn't necessary for me to function. So I don't feel the need to bother. Especially at these prices . . . "

"Suit yourself, then." Saten shrugged and turned to her daydreaming friend. "Hey, Uiharu."

"Wha– Oh, did you need something Saten-san?"

"I was just thinking that we should invite Misaka-san and Shirai-san here as well."

"That's a great idea! I'll call them right away!" Uiharu pulled out her phone and sent a wicked grin over to her friend. "I'll see if 'Onii-chan' is available too . . ."

Saten found herself engrossed in the contents of her teacup and said nothing. The beetle on the table noted the white knuckles gripping it. She needs to be careful, the porcelain is delicate around here . . .

" . . . hum . . . It went directly to voicemail. I'll try Shirai-san's . . . " Uiharu frowned and redialed her phone. ". . . Voicemail. Strange . . . I would have thought their scans would be finished by now."

"They may have forgotten to turn them back on. Try Kamijo-san." The beetle suggested while Uiharu nodded and found his number in her contacts. She leaned towards Saten.

"I assume you'll be wanting this number later, right? You could always ask him for it yourself . . ."

"This tea is great. I wonder where they import it from . . . " The long-haired girl swirled the liquid in her cup. Just wait it out. She'll tire of it eventually . . .

Uiharu frowned with the phone to her ear. "There's no answer. I wonder wh–"

The sound of the door's greeting bell interrupted her thoughts. A trio of very familiar girls in Tokiwadai uniforms entered the tea shop.

"Ah!"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::

After about ten minutes of running, the pair stopped to give Yabumi some breathing time. Kakine looked back and forth. There was no sign of the headband wearing boy anywhere. How could someone trailing smoke like that just up and disappear?

He turned back to regard the young man currently acting as his guide to Sogiitaland.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you meet number seven?"

The young man finally regained his breath and straightened up from his half crouch. He began to rub his temples like someone just asked him to derive non-linear partial differential equations while using 'carrot' and 'swordfish' as the boundary conditions. In other words, he was trying to explain Sogiita Gunha.

"Honestly, It was almost exactly like today . . ."

"How so?"

"He stopped me from being mugged, pretty much."

The pure white boy smiled. "So, you have been with him ever since, then? That's good to hear."

The other boy seemed almost livid and started shaking his fists up and down at the level five.

"I didn't have much of a choice! Letting that idiot run amok would be irresponsible!"

The pure white boy's smile turned into a full grin. He put his hand on the other boy's shoulder in a consoling gesture.

"Now, now. There's no shame in being friends with crazy people. I should know . . . "

" . . . huh?"

"The reason I'm going around to all the level fives is to make sure they have someone."

The boy looked uncomfortable. He shifted in place and looked away before replying. "Someone?"

The white boy nodded. "Someone to lead the monsters from the dark. A friend to hold the torch that guides them home at night."

A boy wearing a headband appeared next to them, seemingly from nowhere. He placed his hands on the two boys' shoulders and hollered in their ears.

"Deep Matter has a point, it's all about friendship!"

"WAHH!" The other two yelled in surprise as they jumped back. For such a loud idiot, he was good at sneaking up on people . . .

Sogiita then grabbed the shoulders of the pure white boy and leaned in to stare the boy in the eyes.

"You are completely right! If there is anything this world needs more of it's friendship, love, . . . AND GUTS! Are you feeling it?!"

The white boy stood perfectly still.

"I'm starting to really regret meeting you . . ."

Yabumi crossed his arms and muttered quietly. "Poseur. I've been regretting it for about 17 weeks now . . . "

The white boy found himself being violently shaken back and forth by the headband wearing boy.

"Stop belly-dancing with birds, Dark Chamber! It's inhumane!"

"DARK MATTER! Why is that so difficult?!" The white boy grabbed Sogiita and began to shake him right back.

"It's difficult, but I'll overcome it! With guts!"

Kakine turned to the other boy standing with them and yelled. "Congratutations! You are now guaranteed the number two spot on my list of most unlucky people in this city!"

Yabumi raised an eyebrow and deadpanned. "I have _got_ to meet this other guy."

"You did earlier."

Sogiita broke in to the conversation.

"It's time! Every party loves a body! Chewing hides the sound!"

He takes of running again, this time in a more normal fashion, while singing loudly and off key.

"She is a MODEL and she's LOOO~KING good . . . !"

The boys stand frozen in shock as they listen to his voice retreating into the distance. Kakine turned his head to the other boy.

"Shall we?"

The other boy simply nodded his head and the pair took off like a shot. As they recommenced their chase, Yabumi's voice went echoing through the city.

"Headband loving IDIOT! STOP RUNNING! DON'T YOU GO INTO THAT TEASHOP!"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::

The Tokiwadai trio didn't initially notice their other friends as they were fully engrossed in a deep conversation. It must be very important considering the flaming crimson on the faces of Mikoto and Kuroko. Kongou seemed unperturbed.

"Seriously, Misaka-san. You don't have to be so coy about this. He is well worth the effort. You have my full support in this endeavor!"

"That . . . you . . . it's not like that!"

"Try not to take her too seriously, Onee-sama. I introduced them earlier and I think she developed a case of Cyrano syndrome."

"Cyrano syndrome?"

"It's basically Stockholm-by-proxy syndrome."

"And you know this, why?"

"I leave no avenue of love unconsidered, Onee-sama!"

Saten stood up and began waving her hands at the group. Distraction from a prior conversation, just what the doctor ordered. For both sides.

"Hey! It's us!"

Mikoto was never so happy to see those girls in her life.

"It's Saten and Uiharu! . . . and the bug. Hey guys! What are you doing here?"

The 'bug' spoke up, ignoring the insult to his person. "We are celebrating the results of the system scans. I take it you _lovely_ ladies are here for the same reason."

Kongou was confused. She pointed at the familiar sounding beetle on the table.

"Didn't you go chasing that guy earlier?"

"I still am."

"You're creeping me out." Kongou felt the blood draining from her face upon hearing its answer.

"I can live with that." The beetle replied, sounding rather pleased with itself.

Uiharu pointed to Mikoto's phone, ready for a change in topic. "Misaka-san, we tried to call you just now. Are your phones turned off?"

Mikoto shook her head and pulled out her green Gekota phone with matching strap to double check that the battery hadn't run out. It hadn't.

"No, it's still on. Actually, we tried to call you a little earlier. I thought your phone was off."

"Let me try you number again, Misaka-san." Uiharu redialed Mikoto's number and everyone waited for the ring. Voicemail. Now Mikoto was confused.

"Let me try your phone." She tried dialing Uiharu. Again, voicemail.

Kongou then pulled out her phone and held it out to the two girls. "Try calling my phone then."

Uiharu dialed. The phone rang. Everyone hesitated, while Mikoto tried her phone next. It rang.

"I think we should try a round-robin." The beetle suggested to the others. The next several minutes were filled with dialing and ringing phones. It was surprising that they weren't getting kicked out considering the racket they were making . . .

Finally, Mikoto summarized their findings. "Alright, it looks like Saten and Kongou-san can send and receive calls from all of us, while the rest can't connect to each other."

"Something is wrong here, Onee-sama."

Uiharu spoke up. "This is unusually selective for an error. The same thing happened when we tried calling Kamijo-san."

"The same thing happened when we tried his phone earlier . . . "

"Kongou and I ran into him earlier, Onee-sama. He seemed healthy."

"I haven't noticed him getting into mischief since he parted with you two." The beetle added. "Although to be fair, I'm not _entirely_ sure where he is right now . . . "

"Then we'll look into the error/attack when we get to headquarters today. Since we're all together right now it doesn't really matter."

Kongou then took the opportunity to bring up an unexpected subject. She addressed the other girls.

"I haven't told you yet, but my group and I have made it our priority to bring Misaka-san's secret desires to fruition!"

"Kongou-san . . . " The teleporter standing next to her tried to caution the noble girl. They probably couldn't afford mass damage in this place . . .

"Secret desires?" Uiharu tilted her head in confusion and looked at the electromaster. Mikoto was currently doing her best impression of a stoplight. Kongou blithely continued.

"We will do everything in our power to groom Kamijo-san into the perfect partner for Misaka-san!"

**SHATTER!**

The girls turned to look at Saten. She had crushed the delicate porcelain teacup in her hands. She stared unblinking at the broken pieces laying in the puddle of the little liquid which had remained. Her fingers opened and closed sporadically.

"SATEN-SAN!" Uiharu rushed over to check her unresponsive friend. No blood. Good.

The other girls continued to stare in wonder at Uiharu's efforts to revive the catatonic girl. The blank stare and dilated pupils were unchanged until a new shock broke through to her.

The girls spun in place as the door to the shop blew open. They watched in shock while a white-clad boy dive rolled through it. Leaping to his feet he yelled to the heavens with abandon.

"WOO! Dramatic entrance for the win! And a '10' from the Russian Judge!"

An angry, yet resigned voice floated in from outside.

"Don't just blast through the door of the most expensive looking shop you can find, you idiot!"

Mikoto stood sparking as she lifted her arm to point at the new arrival.

"YOU!"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::

In an anonymous room somewhere in the city, two young people regarded the picture of a certain hero which hung on the wall.

"He must feel so alone. Being held under the influence of the level fives . . . "

The young man nodded. "I remember District 4 when Mairo-sama went down, we sat and cried by the phone . . ."

The girl looked down at her feet. "We never felt so alone, Ikari-senpai."

The young man reached out to console her. "Number six will not go unpunished. We will find him."

"Maybe, we have already gone crazy . . ." Myuri sighed and shook her head. "We failed to retrieve the Hacker. She will no doubt remain under the Railgun's thumb. She was our last hope . . . "

"The General has forgiven us. The Hero was present."

The girl smiled, remembering. How her body had locked up back then. How ragged was her breathing. She spoke quietly to herself as she reached out and touched the boy in the picture once more.

"We will bring you home . . . "

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::

Sogiita looked both ways in confusion before pointing at himself with both hands.

"ME!"

"IDIOT!"

The boy was unperturbed by the sparking girl in front of him. He gave Mikoto a thumbs up.

"It's alright if I'm an idiot . . . It doesn't matter because I'll overcome it. With GUTS!"

Mikoto looked like she was ready to start pulling out the coins. "Of course it matters! Now Idiot-the-Second, I challenge you to a duel!"

Sogiita scratched his head before grinning at the girl. "Gutsy challenges are the best! You look familiar though. You wouldn't happen to have about ten sisters would you?"

Mikoto was taken aback and began to stutter. "N. . .no! I'm Misaka Mikoto! We fought by the vending machine before. I want a rematch!"

Sogiita gained a look of recognition. He pointed at the twitching middle-school girl

"You're that level five. Sparky-girl!"

"RAILGUN!" Mikoto shrieked and took a menacing step forward. "Once I smash the stupid out of you, I'll be able to finally beat Idiot-the-First!"

"So I'm the mid-boss in this game called life? I've got to meet this other guy!" Sogiita turned to the other girls and held his fist up to eye-level. "WITH GUTS!"

"You stupid . . . " Mikoto started to dig into her pockets. Kuroko jump-tackled her arm.

"Onee-sama! We can't afford to rebuild this place!"

Mikoto growled, but pulled an empty hand from her pocket. With the storm seemingly passed, an average looking high school boy cautiously made his way inside. He was followed closely by a very familiar pure white boy.

Cue the confusion.

"Wha–"

The white boy interrupted the astonished group with a wave of his hand. "Yes, there are two of me. You've seen weirder. Deal with it."

He turned to the beetle on the table. "Have you been comfortable slacking off?"

"Very. Enjoying the matinee showing of 'My Dinner-and-chase-scene with Gunha'?"

"About as much as you are. I demand we switch!"

"You know, arguing with oneself is a sign of brain damage . . . "

"That's your problem then!"

The girls weren't quite sure what to make of this display. This was lunar swimsuit modeling all over again . . .

Sogiita stepped up. The fire was in his eyes as he addressed the group as a whole. "This is a really gutsy party! How often do you get four level fives in one room for tea? This is just like that crowd event the other day . . . "

Mikoto asked the question on everyone's minds. "Are you counting ghost-boy twice?"

"Of course not!" The headband wearing boy stepped forward to where Saten is sitting and extended his hand to shake.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, number eight!"

Time stopped. Saten could only look at the hand hanging in front of her face in wonder. Number eight?

Uiharu quickly spoke for her paralyzed friend. "I think you have made a mistake. There is no number eight level five. Besides, Saten-san is a level zero."

Sogiita waved his hand dismissively. "I might be getting ahead of myself, but you can't fake guts! And this girl is by far the gutsiest person in the room!"

A light near the headband wearing boy flickered briefly. He touched it with a strangely focused expression before he grinned again to the group. "We're needed elsewhere. Be seeing you!"

He grabbed the arms of the other two boys and headed out the door. He paused briefly before calling over to the girl he had addressed before.

"One more thing. He will be there to take your hand, 'Stormfront'. So don't keep him waiting . . ."

The boy then dashed out of the shop with his unwilling companions in tow. Mikoto ran after them, throwing sparks.

"Come back here so I can make you eat that stupid headband, you idiot!"

Uiharu moved to comfort her friend with the other girls following suit.

"Don't worry Saten-san. I don't think he said that to be mean . . ."

"How?"

Uiharu paused in suprise. "Pardon?"

"How did he know?"

Kuroko spoke up, equally confused by her friend's reaction. "Know what, Saten-san?"

"They called me Stormfront in my dreams . . ."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kakine and Yabumi found themselves in something of a funny situation. Mind you, if you asked them right now they wouldn't be laughing.

The sight of Sogiita Gunha racing along the road with two young men violently in tow behind him was exactly what that funny situation was, compounded by the fact that the trio was also currently being chased by a sparking girl from Tokiwadai.

"Get back here and fight, you IDIOT!" Mikoto yelled and grabbed hold of a nearby bridge with her magnetism to slingshot herself even with the trio.

"No time, missy! Our guts are needed elsewhere!" Sogiita nodded towards the destination he had been aiming for.

The others felt their jaws drop in unison when they witnessed the disaster in the all too near distance. Vast plumes of smoke rose into the sky from a sea of confusion and destruction. Kakine could see people running around in a panic while giant construction robots tromped and smashed into everything they could reach with their enormous metal limbs.

It was then that the chilling fact hit him. He had no idea this had been happening. There were dozens of him in the area and yet he knew nothing of them. It was as if he were the only one.

Kakine shuddered.

"Why are you bringing **me** into this?!" Yabumi shrieked into the ears of his so-called friend.

"Mars needs redshirts!" Sogiita yelled back.

"YOU BETTER BE JOKING! ! !"

Kakine narrowed his eyes. It was time. "Number seven, release me."

With that, six seraph's wings erupted from his back with an echoing roar like thunder. The violent noise brought the attention of all those within the battle zone. He lifted from the ground with a dust raising burst of air and was propelled like a cannon shot into the danger zone.

"Now that's what I call guts." Sogiita stated with a grin while the group picked themselves up from the ground.

"I'm not going to let that showoff get the best of me!" Mikoto exclaimed and shot herself forward like one of her own coins.

Sogiita turned to the remaining boy with a smile. Yabumi stepped back.

"NO!"

"Yes." Sogiita grabbed the boy and tucked him under his arm. Now secured, they too shot forward closing the remaining distance in under a minute.

As soon as his head cleared, Yabumi picked himself up from the heap he had landed in when Sogiita dropped him upon arriving. He started to look around to assess the situation.

Mikoto and Kakine were doing rather well, it seemed. Kakine was using his wings to batter away any debris that got too near the people around him, while Mikoto used her magnetism to pick up and smash the various robots that ventured into her range.

Sogiita dashed forward and swung his fist. "Amazing Punch!"

The shockwave knocked two robots into a third. The were soon destroyed when Mikoto fired a dumpster into them. Yabumi noticed another robot smashing through an alley behind a group of people.

A young woman with short black hair and glasses had gathered together a group of terrified children. She pushed them into the open, away from the alley. She turned the corner and dropped to the ground as a set of white wings were cut loose, destroying the robot in the alley before dissolving away into nothingness. Kakine quickly became distracted by a pair menacing another group of students.

Yabumi noticed that one of the children, a little girl, had tripped and fallen in the street. He raced over to her without a care for the danger and picked her up. As he turned, he noticed that the wall behind the young woman was starting to collapse. It would crush her!

"SOGIITA! ! !"

"Amazing PUNCH ! ! !" The level five sent out a shock wave that crumbled the wall, reversing its direction.

Yabumi put down the little girl in a safer location and ran over to the young woman. He begin freeing her from the debris that had fallen on her. Kakine knelt alongside him and checked the girls vital signs.

"She's breathing, but it was a good hit." He said to the boy.

"She isn't badly bleeding anywhere." Yabumi added as the two finally freed her. "You need to bring her to the hospital."

"Why can't–"

"I know Sogiita well enough to direct people out of his way. You are the one that can get her there the fastest with the least trauma. Tell them we need help. Now GO!"

The pure white boy blinked for a moment before he nodded and picked up the unconscious young women. With a roar of his wings, he was aloft and traveling like a shot. Yabumi nodded his head at the retreating seraph and turned to see a group of people huddled behind a bench.

"Duty calls . . . "

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::

The girls and beetle sitting around the table were silent. The air was heavy with the unwillingness to broach the subject weighing on each of their minds. It was the beetle who finally made an attempt, barely above a whisper as if fearing the silence would shatter.

". . . it's not really _that_ outlandish. Considering the results."

"Results?"

"Her system scan results, Shirai-san. Her normalized gain was 32.6%"

"What."

The beetle waved its tiny limb. "Uiharu-san, the paper."

"Right. Here it is, Shirai-san." Uiharu handed it to the girls, who were then crowding around it. The size of their eyes would have been comical had the mood been lighter.

"O–Onee-sama gained 29.8% this morning, I gained 20.102%. How about you, Kongou?"

The noble girl fluttered her fan sheepishly in front of her face. " . . . 17.1%."

Kuroko placed the paper down on the table with a slow and deliberate motion. "It's rare for a level zero to ever reach as high as level three. To the best of my knowledge only one of them has ever achieved level four. I think that boy was just being cruel . . ."

The beetle twitched and raised itself somewhat from its place on the table. "The boy is insane. I will grant you that. But, . . ."

The beetle ambled over to where Uiharu was sitting and placed itself in its usual position, clipped to her skirt. "That boy knows things he has no right to know. Things he never could have learned and forgets soon after. If he says Saten-san is the number eight, then I'm inclined to believe it."

Silence once again fell upon the group. Uiharu looked at the grim, mixed expressions on the faces of her friends. She had to get their minds off this subject and fast.

"Ah! I just remembered. I haven't told you about a group I have been tracking for a week now. I caught them trying to hack into the esper power databases."

Kuroko perked up her ears. "Do they have a name?"

"Yes, they call themselves 'Middle Line'."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::

Anyone who was looking up would have been treated to a surprising sight. An angel flying over head, a splendor of white wings. This was Kakine Teitoku, the one who saves.

The pure white boy looked at his passenger when he felt her beginning to stir. She was regaining consciousness! The young woman squinted slightly and whispered in a hoarse voice that the boy could only just hear.

" . . . Beetle . . . san?"

He blinked in surprise. "We have met then, I take it?"

She shook her head. "Not personally, but I remember you from the picture on Uiharu's desk."

Kakine suddenly realized the picture she was talking about. After they met up on Saturday, Uiharu had insisted that the four of them take a picture together, before heading to Tokiwadai. He smiled as he remembered the arrangement. The two girls took the inside, each taking one of the boys' arms while throwing the peace sign and winking at the camera. Uiharu had his arm, while Saten took hold of a very sheepish looking Touma. He finally grinned down at the injured young woman.

"I take it you work with Uiharu then?" She nodded. "Thank you for looking after her."

"It's no problem. My names Konori, by the way. Konori Mii. Were you the one who saved me?"

The white boy shook his head. "The number seven is the one that stopped the wall from hitting you. I'm just the talking ambulance."

"I would really like to thank the both of you . . ."

"Don't worry. I'll bring him to see you after we finish with that little ruckus back there."

"Thank you."

The boy nodded silently. They had arrived at the frog-faced doctor's hospital. Kakine explained the situation and they sent out all available vehicles to assist in moving the patients.

The boy paused outside the hospital before heading back. A white mass dripped like molten wax from his open palm and formed itself into the shape of a small white beetle.

"Good. You can keep an eye on her for now."

"Will do. Why couldn't we do this earlier, during the fight?" The beetle asked feeling puzzled.

"We tried."

"I don't like it." The beetle stated, alighting on the nearby wall.

The white boy turned and rose into the sky.

"Neither do I . . . Neither do I.. . . "

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::

In the anonymous room, the young man assured the girl beside him.

"You are right Myuri-chan. We will return him to the world he has worked so hard to build. A throne we are only keeping warm for him."

Myuri's eyes sparkled. A king must have a queen . . .

A cell phone rang and Ikari quickly answered.

"General?" He frowned

" _. . ."_

"He is in talks with the Queen?"

" _. . . "_

"I understand she is under contract, but can we trust her with the Hero?"

" _. . . "_

Myuri felt a tightening in her chest she gripped her shirt with white knuckles.

_A King will need a Queen . . . ._

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The white boy had made it back to the scene of destruction, it seemed as though the fun concluded without him. He shook his head feeling a little disappointed. Noticing the others in a small group with an Anti-skill officer, he descended and touched down behind them. The Anti-skill member didn't take the arrival well . . .

"AAHH!" The small dark-haired woman with glasses toppled flat on her back. Yabumi helped her to her feet. She looked at the newcomer with a sheepish expression "Sorry . . . "

"My fault. I forget that my reputation precedes me . . ."

"R–right . . . Anyway it seems that there were a minimum of casualties owing to your efforts." The women pauses briefly. "Anti-skill wishes to thank you for your support. As procedure, we will need testimonies."

The white boy spoke up, waving his hand for her attention."If it's all the same, I have a young woman in the hospital waiting to thank the number seven for saving her."

"A–ah, well then . . . "

Yabumi waved the two of them away. "Then go. I can provide testimony for Sogiita-san."

"I-I suppose that would be fine. Do you need a ride to your dorm then?"

Yabumi nodded. "That would be major help, thanks."

Mikoto quickly put her hand up. "I could use help convincing the dorm manager that what I did here was justified . . . "

The small woman gives a small smile and nods. "Right then. When my partner brings the car around, we'll be able do the interviews on the way."

Kakine looks over to Sogiita. "Then it's settled. Shall we go?"

"Right! Destiny awaits! With GUTS!"

The headband wearing boy blasted away into the sky spouting streamers of brilliantly colored smoke behind him. The remaining members of the group were knocked to the ground

"I'm not getting paid enough . . . " The white boy muttered as he picked himself up and, upon regrowing his wings, took to the sky. In only a few moments he landed in front of the hospital's entrance. A small white beetle on the wall greeted him.

"Number seven went inside. All clear?"

"Yes. I take it you know what happened now?"

"Indeed. I received memories as soon as you came into sight."

"We'll have to look into this. Distance never mattered before . . ."

"I'll do what I can." the beetle turned and started to ascend the wall. "You better get in there before something breaks . . . "

"Right, right." The white boy agreed and quickly headed inside.

The front desk had directed Sogiita to the young woman's room already and he was in a deep and animated conversation with her when Kakine arrived surreptitiously in the room.

Kakine could feel his face splitting into a wide grin at the sight of Konori.

The color on her face. The hesitation in her voice. The murmured inflection of those words. The way her eye's met Sogiita's for only the briefest of moments before darting away. Again and again . . .

He muttered quietly to himself. "_Perfect . . . _"

With a quiet cough he stepped further into the room making the others aware of his presence.

"Ah, Beetle-san. Thank you for bringing Sogiita-san to visit."

"Oh I assure you I merely pointed the direction. He on the other hand couldn't get her fast enough . . ."

"It's true! You were the one who saved all those children back there, so the pleasure is all mine!"

"I–I was just doing my duty as a member of judgment . . . t–that's all really . . . " Konori looked away from the boy trying to control the shaking in her voice. She could feel the heat on her cheeks as she tried to compose herself. This went out the window when the headband wearing boy grabbed her hand and held it tightly in his own.

"You're in Judgment?! That takes guts! You really are an amazing person!"

Konori was having trouble breathing. "I–I . . . me . . . I–I . . . ."

The white boy spoke up with a playful tone. "Hey, Sogiita-san. You said you wanted to join Judgment, right? Why don't you join her branch?"

The girl's head turned towards him so fast that Kakine thought it was going to come off. Her eyes were large enough to have a diagonal picture rating . . .

"That sounds great! Do you really think they'll take me?"

"I think you're a shoe in . . . ."

"That's amazing! This is a whole new opportunity to train my guts! . . . Konori-san are you alright? You look like you are getting a fever and you're squeezing my hand hard enough that I'm starting to feel it."

The girl in question was not responding. She was staring at the pure white boy with an expression hes has seen many times before. All in a day's work . . .

"This is your cellphone, right, Konori-san? Here Sogiita-san, put in your number. She'll need to contact you for the position."

The white boy pulled the phone off the nearby table and handed it to the headband barer. He turned to Konori with a wicked little smile. The girl was no longer coherent.

"Done! Call me anytime! My guts never go on vacation!" The boy placed the phone back on the table and gave Konori a thumbs up. Her eyes were rolling back into her head . . . .

Kakine spoke up, addressing the other boy. "Now that that is done, why don't we let her get some rest. She seems to be needing it . . . "

"Agreed! So long, Konori-san! Feel better soon! We need to show this city our guts!"

"All in due time. Now, can I have a word with you in the hallway?"

The white boy waved the other out of the room. He looked at the Judgment girl laying on the bed. She was staring up at the ceiling one hand still raised, her fingers slowly grasping for something no longer there. He slowly slid the door closed behind him.

"_Utterly perfect . . . _"

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Myuri listened as her superior continued speaking with the General.

The boy had begun to pace in frustration. "I understand that she is necessary, but the pace she is setting is far from ideal."

" _. . . "_

"Wouldn't a more direct method be simpler?"

" _. . . "_

"Yes I am fully aware of the limitations when dealing with Somnipathic espers, however few there are . . . "

" _. . . "_

" . . . The Dreamer will be the first born of One. We will ensure there are no mistakes."

The phone line went dead. Ikari sighed and put away his phone. The General was not one to chit-chat.

Myuri shifted from one foot to the other before she worked up the courage to say what was on her mind.

"You know what this means, right?"

The boy sat down at a nearby table, placing his elbows on it. He buried his eyes in the palms of his hands. Myuri continued, her voice coming out as a whisper.

"If we fail, the Hero will never forgive us . . . "

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With the fun now behind him, Kakine pushed Sogiita towards the lobby were they could talk without disturbing the hospital staff. When they got to a quiet corner he nodded.

"Right, It's time that I explain why I was looking for you . . . "

"It was the call of the GUTS! No need to explain!"

"Can you be serious for ONE MINUTE!?"

Sogiita only sent the white boy a dual thumbs up. "One minute it is!"

Kakine rubbed his forehead. " . . . I can work with that."

The white boy took a deep breath and looked intently at the other boy. "After meeting your friend earlier, I feel better about you."

"That's great, Dark Hatter!"

"DARK MATTER! I know you're doing it on purpose. No one is _that_ stupid." The white boy grabbed Sogiita and started to shake him like he was the largest Christmas present under the tree.

The headband wearing boy fell backwards, landing in a seated position with a distant look in his eyes. He muttered cryptically, but made no move to stand up.

"If you underestimate her, she will leave you behind. She is the first child of the One. Broken is not lost . . . ."

"Sogiita!"

The boy's eyes found their focus and he regarded the white boy from the floor. He quietly stood up and brushed himself off. Kakine narrowed his eyes and questioned the number seven.

"What did you mean?" Kakine clarified upon seeing Sogiita's confusion. "When you were on the floor."

"I don't remember saying anything."

The white boy shook his head. "I think you need to start listening to yourself. There are parts of you hidden in the dark that you need to find. Like there's something big hiding just out of sight . . . "

Sogiita nodded. "You aren't the first to make that assessment . . . "

The white boy wasn't surprised to hear that. "Still, I think it will be a good idea if you look out for Konori-san. She's a good person. I think she'll be a good source for moral support and grounding."

Sogiita threw the white boy a thumbs up. "Works for me! How about you? What's your next move?"

"Tomorrow is another level five. Suggestions?"

"How about Sparky?"

Kakine shook his head. "Mikoto-san was yesterday."

Sogiita put his hand on his chin lost in thought. Suddenly, he perked up and put one finger in the air.

"That blond level five, 'Mentally In' or something. She was severely lacking in guts during the Daihasei opening ceremony!"

Kakine nodded. Number five it was then. "Very well, I'll leave it at that."

"Good luck" The headband wearing boy gave a gentle punch to the white boy's shoulder as he passed by. "Perhaps the ending has not yet been written . . . "

Kakine blinked in confusion. Another spell . . . ? Sogiita walked back to the ward they had left earlier, the enigmatic look on his face made the white boy pause briefly.

As Kakine turned to leave, he heard the voice of the other boy. He turned back quickly, but the number seven was already gone.

"_Dark Matter, who is the General?"_

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It was nearing curfew when Saten finally left Uiharu's dorm. After the shop, the two of them went back there to try to sort things out. She had assured Uiharu that she would be fine by herself and left. Sleep sounded good. She just hoped she would be able to sleep . . . .

In her distraction, she missed the uneven pavement and dropped in an ungraceful heap on the ground. She pushed herself up to her hands and knees. She muttered.

"Nice move, level five . . ."

"Saten-san?"

She looked up and thought she was going to have a heart attack. It was _him_.

"Kamijo-san! What are you doing here?"

"I was wondering how the system scans went, but everyone's phone was off the hook or something." He scratched his head and continued. "I thought I would check on you guys on my way home today."

Saten could feel herself grasping the fabric of her skirt tight enough to rip the fabric. She forced herself to loosen her grip.

"That's sweet, Kamijo-san. You didn't have to go to the trouble . . ."

"It's no trouble. Here, I'll walk you to your dorm." He reached out his hand to the seated girl.

Saten stared at that hand like she expected it to turn into some wild animal. Finally, her own hand reached out and closed the distance, coming to rest clasped in his own. It felt warm.

"Thank you Kamijo-san . . . "

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Author's Notes:

Saten's the number eight?! We'll just have to wait and see . . .

FYI: Cyrano syndrome and Somnipathic espers were made up (at least in this usage . . . ) by me. Try to guess the implication. Sogiita (and several of the others) also quotes a wide variety of sources. Harem anime, western cartoons, Doctor Who, and obscure bands.

We're running Sogiita/Konori? Ship-to-ship combat FTW!

My favorites: Kakine being trolled (unintentionally) by Sogiita, and Kakine trolling himself . . .

Just for reference, the activities of this entire fic are occuring after NT7 but before the start of NT8.

I haven't read NT8 yet (I was waiting for the translation to finish), so I don't know the timing between the two stories in canon. For my fic, I say that ~1-2 weeks have passed from Agitate Halation before the start of 'He will Surely Save' which itself covers about a week and a half of running time. NT8 would start a week or so after this fic is concluded. Other than that AU element, I want to stay close to canon. Some OOC to be expected of course . . .

EDIT:

Hello all, I would like to thank all of you for your reviews, favs, and follows!

I have read NT8 By now. I am mostly pleased, but I thought Lessar was a bit subdued . . .

Reviews:

Glad to hear we have Saten supporters among us! I hope you will be pleased by the way things turn out over the course of this fic (and the probably four other ones following).

I'm working hard on the next two chapters and have most of the plot points written for part five. We'll see how long it takes to write them . . .

SilverIceRing: After reading the few Sogiita fics, I decided to have fun with him. He is mostly having trouble taking Kakine seriously. Sogiita seems to be hiding something amazing, whether or not he knows it . . . The new group will be explained over the course of the rest of the fic. Keep an eye out for them . . .

Blue-Sanctum: The 'vivid' dreams will be teased for a little while . . . . Glad you enjoyed Troll Sogiita. He was very fun to write.

Luna Warsong: Glad you enjoyed it all! The Queen probably would have had more fun had Himegami not followed Touma in . . .

Triple Zed: Actually, I am placing this fic between NT7 and NT8. I am just forcing the time line so that there is a month or so between the two.

Arcane Valor: Glad you like the OC. Myuri-chan is a call back to part one, it seems the mugging wasn't just a mugging . . .

Finally Many Thanks (!) to: Lenda; Lothar; Mimo; Luna; Lelyna; Lobster; Laki; Loner; Clover; A Certain Unfortunate Guy; SilverIceRing; Blue-Sanctum; Luna Warsong; Triple Zed; Alciel; Arcane Valor; Han-ko; FlyingCow65; The Azure Heart; SaphireHeart; LoveMadness; The DarkBringer; Billy Ruffian; Catherine; Kokie

My guess is another 2 weeks for the next part. Probably not as long as this one, but you never know . . .

Until next time, Lets get writing!


	5. Starlit Dominions

**He will Surely Save, part 5: Starlit Dominions**

**I Do Not Own The RAILDEX Universe**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Greetings All!

Sorry to keep you waiting, hopefully the results were worth it . . .

Many, many thanks to everyone who has favored, followed and reviewed this story. Bravo!

And thanks to the railgun manga, we know for sure that Touma + Sogiita = Badass city (pop. 2)!

The following part of the story takes place on Tuesday, one day after the last chapter.

Just how well will Beetle-san fare against the Queen?

Enjoy!

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An elegant young woman was seated at the center of attention. This was of no surprise to anyone that would be allowed to see her.

The very act of sitting was brought out in a pose that wouldn't have looked out of place on the cover of an expensive magazine. Her blonde hair was long and flowed in effortless waves down her back. Delicate gloved hands held a cup and saucer filled with tea that likely cost more per ounce than the average student could afford to spend in a month. Those features paled when their true rivals in company were known.

Those eyes. It was those eyes that put all else to shame.

Eyes the young woman claimed to be her's from birth. They were a mark of a rare breed. She was Shokuhou Misaki, the number five of the seven: Mental Out.

"My queen?"

A girl with impressive ringlet curls broke into the attention of the level five. The Queen gave the chief of her girls a small smile.

"Yes?" The Queen's voice bubbled like water over smooth stones. "What is it, Makigami-chan?"

The girl hesitated with a grimace. "Can't I have a different nickname, my Queen? It's embarrassing . . ."

The Queen only smiled more brightly. "It suits you too well~ Now, why is my morning tea being interrupted?"

Makigami-chan sighed and held out a note, consisting of a simple folded piece of paper.

"The Railgun's pet brought this for you to read. She's waiting outside for your response."

The Queen took the paper and began to unfold it. "Well now~ Perhaps it's an unconditional surrender ability from our resident rival amazon . . . "

The other girl shook her head. "I was told it was not sent by the Railgun."

"Hm– What an interesting turn of events~"

"What does it say my Queen?" The girl asked.

In response, the level five read the terse note aloud.

_Mental Out,_

_I wish to meet with you today for a peaceful conversation._

_Name your time and place._

_Dark Matter_

The girl with ringlet curls blinked in surprise. "Dark Matter? I thought he was dead!"

The Queen began to turn the note in different directions, closely scrutinizing the paper. She answered the other girl with an off-hand remark. "Misaka-san's recent complaining seems to indicate otherwise. Also, this isn't paper . . . "

The girl fixed her eyes on the note with a look of horror usually reserved for large spiders or the revelation that she was being forced to partner in a lab class with Kuroko Shirai. Yes, _that_ look.

"What is it then?!" she said, backing away.

"I can't be certain, but . . . " The level five gently brushed the surface of the note past her lips. The texture was halfway between paper and flesh. "My guess is . . . this is dark matter~"

"If that's true– You don't really plan on meeting with him, do you!?"

"The note does show some proper class ability. I don't see why not~"

The Queen waved the note at the other girl. "Go and tell our messenger that I will meet with him as soon as he is able."

The curly-haired girl turned to leave and replied with a long-suffering grumble. "As you wish, my Queen."

Misaki grinned as she rubbed her hands together.

"_Today will have epic novelty power~"_

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A young woman sat by herself, next to a small fountain. She had long black hair with only a single flower as a decoration. She wore casual clothes despite it being Tuesday, as normal classes were currently suspended.

The primary system scans had been held yesterday, but most of the week was being taken up by supplementary classes and rescans for those that needed them. For those that scanned well, it was a paradise. A few hours of work on Monday led to a week of freedom. For the rest though, the system scan was unending torment born of pure drudgery and the feelings of inadequacy.

If one looked at this particular girl, they could be forgiven for thinking her to be ordinary, and for a long time, this thought would have been correct. Those that saw her results from yesterday's scan knew otherwise, however. She was extraordinary.

Her name was Saten Ruiko, and she was extraordinary.

"Saten-san!" A cheerful voice called out from over her left shoulder. Saten turned to see a girl with a head full of flowers running up to her. It was her best friend Uiharu, with a talking beetle clipped to her skirt. The beetle spoke when Uiharu finally bounded to a stop.

"Good morning, Saten-san. Did you sleep well?" It asked with a polite, if slightly playful tone of voice.

Saten grimaced for a moment. Sleeping had become an interesting event recently. The dreams. Oh, the dreams. Like none she had ever had before. She decided to answer cautiously.

"For the most part, Beetle-san. How about you?"

"I no longer need to do so. So anyway, how about those dreams. We've been waiting for details!"

Saten had a feeling that if the beetle had a face it would be grinning right now. Uiharu nodded in agreement with her beetle companion's words.

"That's right, Saten-san!" She said, wearing the exact grin that Saten had pictured on the beetle a moment ago. "It's not good to keep things like that hidden. Your friends are here to help you!"

Saten rubbed her forehead in defeat. "Fine. . . I'll tell you about the dream I had last night."

Uiharu rubbed her hands together in anticipation while the white beetle crawled up onto her shoulder to get a better vantage point. Saten began her description.

"The dream started in some room I don't recognize, it was very large." Saten began to gesture with her hands to give a sense of scale. "At the time, I saw myself asleep on this bed. It was big enough for two people, and . . . and . . . . Uiharu, are you taking _notes_?!"

Uiharu quickly shoved a small pad of paper and pen back into her pocket. "Not at all, Saten-san!"

The flower-headed girl turned her head and whispered to the beetle on her shoulder. _"You can repeat what she says later, right?"_

"_In her own voice even."_ The Beetle whispered back.

"_beautiful . . . "_ Uiharu grinned.

"Hey!" Saten yelled at her so-called friends. "Don't plot like I'm not even here!"

"Sorry, Saten-san! Please continue!"

Saten sighed and shook her head. "Alright, fine."

She began to gesture again. "I was awoken in the dream by a door opening. It was Kamijo-san."

Girl and beetle leaned forward as one.

"He slowly walks up to the bed where I am. He starts to reach out with his hand, and . . . and . . . " She abruptly cuts off and crosses her arms. "OK, I can't talk with you looking at me like that."

Uiharu was currently leaning so far forward she was nearly bent over. The grin on her face was pulling her lips past her ears and her eyes were glittering so brightly, they could be used to land planes. The beetle wasn't much better. It was bouncing up and down like it spent the morning swimming in a pot of coffee. Saten didn't appreciate that kind of pressure.

"Oh come on, Saten-san! You can't stop there. It's starting to get juicy!"

Saten narrows her eyes. "You had your chance. The last time I saw someone with that look, it was on Shirai-san after Misaka-san told us she needed new underwear!"

Uiharu gave her friend an embarrassed smile and scratched her head. "I love a good dream . . . "

"I don't know what kind of dream you are referring to, but I think we should drop this and go buy Banri-san's present like we were planing to."

Uiharu's shoulders fell, but she nodded in agreement. On the other hand, if it was possible for a beetle to look more depressed than the one on the girl's shoulder, Saten hasn't seen it. It spoke up in a clearly disappointed tone.

"Very well, maybe some other time. What should we get Edasaki-san this time?"

"We have time. Lets window shop until something strikes us."

"That sounds good. Lead on, Saten-san!" Uiharu cried out before sharing a glance with the beetle on her shoulder.

No worries, they'll get it. It's only a matter of time . . . .

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"_The Queen has accepted the meeting, please don't keep her waiting."_

Kuroko gritted her teeth as she remembered the words of that haughty curly-haired underling. She had managed to politely nod and left without tying those corkscrews into a knot. _Man_, that would have been satisfying . . . .

She popped into existence outside the gate of School Garden and looked around for the errant white beetle. She decided to be direct.

"BEETLE-SAN! Get your ugly carapace out here!"

"A . . . _girl_ . . . that looks like her head is being invaded by two squids, shouldn't be throwing stones . . . " A smooth, abet irked, voice spoke out from behind her. She turned and found a small white beetle clinging to the wall.

"Whatever, whitewash-san. The witch agreed to meet you. She's waiting inside."

The beetle flew off the wall and alighted on the teleporter's shoulder. "Wonderful. Now mush!"

Kuroko briefly considered finding a fly-swatter, before shaking her head and muttering. "Just hold on, we'll be there in a minute."

"Wait–" The beetle dropped to the ground as the girl disappeared beneath him. He grumbled as he waited for the girl to reappear. It took a minute.

"That better not have been on purpose, Beetle-san." Kuroko said, crossing her arms.

"Yes, a long drop to the floor was my plan all along . . . ."

She shook her head. "It was like trying to pick up a greased beach ball with one hand . . . "

"You can't put two pounds of flour into a one pound bag." The beetle flew back up to her shoulder. "We have to walk."

"You're turning this into a chore, Beetle-san."

"That's the level fives' burden. Feel my pain. Now mush!"

Kuroko began to storm back into School Garden. This was the last time she agreed to do this bug a favor . . . .

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It had been about a half an hour since she had sent the Railgun's pet away with the message for the number two to meet with her and Misaki was starting to get impatient.

How long did it take for a _teleporter_ to bring someone to a location? She pulled out a remote with the intent of sending some of her drones to gather information when she heard a knock on the door.

Finally . . . .

"Come in~"

Kuroko entered the room seemingly alone. The Queen narrowed her eyes when she noticed a small white beetle on the teleporter's shoulder.

"Dark Matter, I presume?"

Like cherry blossom petals blowing in the wind, the beetle dissolved off the other girl's shoulder. Misaki watched with an astonished expression as they lengthened into ribbons and took the shape of a slender pure-white boy with glowing green eyes. The newcomer bowed his head politely.

"Thank you for having me, number five."

Misaki grinned. "The pleasure is all mine~ I expected to see you sooner though."

"I was waiting outside the main gates of School Garden for your reply."

The Queen raised an eyebrow. "I would have thought you would have been waiting in the building . . ."

The white boy shook his head. "It's not proper for a gentleman to enter a lady's domicile uninvited."

"I see~" Misaki smirked. "Then why did it take you so long to get here? Teleporting should have only taken about five minutes . . . "

"This form cannot be teleported. It projects into the 11 higher dimensions that Shirai-san uses for teleportation." The white boy set a steely look on the other level five. "It is also transparent to electromagnetism, just so you know. "

The Queen gave a little mock pout. "That's no fun at all~"

The white boy raised his chin. "I plan for this to be a serious talk. Are you planning on having your followers around?"

"I gave them the compulsion to leave and keep others from bothering us." The Queen replied while shaking her head. "That in mind, shouldn't we send the pet teleporter back to her flat-chested master?"

Kuroko snapped to attention. "How dare you besmirch Onee-sama's good name you _witch_!"

Kuroko made to step forward, her fists clenched. The Queen simply pressed a button on her remote control and the teleporter froze, stars glinting in her eyes. The queen had not anticipated the boys response to this however . . .

"WAAHH!" Misaki was knocked off her chair, landing flat on her back.

The boy's right hand lengthened into five pointed spears that shattered the table in front of her. Misaki's eyes widened in fear at the sight of it. The points were digging effortlessly into the floor with a horrible scraping sound. Each one was webbed to the next with white skin, giving it the appearance of a tent that was partially enveloping her.

Misaki's breathing came out in erratic gasps as she met the white boy's narrowed green eyes. His voice was cold as he spoke to her.

"_I don't recall giving you permission to use your powers on one of my friends . . ."_

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A young woman hesitated outside the door to the meeting room. She gave off the rough vibe of a hoyden, with a slender body and boyishly short and spiky red hair completing the look. It may have been the intensity of her liquid brown eyes or her coarse way of speaking, both traits she held no apologies for, which were the source of this aura.

This illusion begging to be shattered.

She could hear the voice inside the room, the tone was clipped. A one-sided conversation was taking place between her sempai and an absent person. Most likely the General.

She finally raised the courage to open the door.

Ikari-sempai looked over and waved her to a chair near him. Myuri sat down as he continued speaking on his cellphone, looking irritated.

" _. . . "_

"Well, I'm sorry to say, but your little assault yesterday didn't go as planned, _General . . ._"

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"_I don't recall giving you permission to use your powers on one of my friends . . ."_

Anyone could tell you that the sight was terrifying. While the attack had been unexpected, Misaki's breathing began to return to normal. Her eyes narrowed from their wide state and she began to _smile_.

"You put on that mask so easily~"

The white boy frowned at those words.

"I see all the stories about your alley acting ability were true." Misaki teased as she put a finger beside her chin. "It looks like the two of us aren't so different after all~"

The white boy grumbled and turned his head away. The giant claw dissolved into nothingness as his ordinary arm replaced it. Misaki picked her chair up and sat down again.

Like nothing had happened, she picked up the conversation.

"So then, why did you want to meet with me?"

The white boy crossed his arms. "I have been meeting with all the level fives. Yesterday, the number seven suggested seeing you."

Misaki raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised he knew my name . . ."

"He didn't." Kakine shook his head. "Personally, I would like to forget about yesterday . . ."

The Queen leaned forward with a tilted head. "That sounds like an interesting story for another time~"

"Interesting is hardly the word I would use . . . " The white boy muttered to himself before once again addressing the other level five. "I want to see that the level fives have someone."

"Someone?" The Queen gave a little pose in her chair. "I have plenty~"

The white boy gritted his teeth and placed his hands on his hips. "I didn't mean someone to be controlled! I meant someone to make them into better people."

"So you want to know who I have, then?" Misaki grinned at the implication. "I have my prince~"

The boy's eyes narrowed. "I don't suppose this 'prince' has a name . . ."

The starry-eyed girl only giggled in response. "If you have to ask, you haven't been paying attention~"

"I have a feeling that I know who it is. . . " The white boy sighed. "I can't say that I approve, but it's better than nothing."

The Queen gave another little pose, but otherwise said nothing. The white boy continued.

"Considering your actions during the incidents at the Daihasei and the aftermath of the gothic lolita twins, I am willing to let it stand like this." He waved a finger at the girl. "Just don't think this 'prince' is yours alone."

The Queen waved her hand. "Yes, yes . . . every girl for herself~"

"Just so we are clear."

"Crystal~" the Queen folded her hands. "Since I have you here, What do you think about Misaka-san?"

"What kind of random question is that?" The white level five scowled at the other. "Why is it important?"

"You did call Shirai-san your friend . . . "

"Friend. Unfortunate responsibility. All the same."

Misaki smiled at his discomfort. "I'm only curious~"

Kakine hesitated for a moment before replying. "Fine."

He took a deep breath as he found the right words. "I think she is a good person who possesses a great power. I believe she will do everything she can to look out for her friends. As best as she is able."

"But . . . " Misaki prodded.

"But, I believe she has a long way to go before she can truly be trusted to keep those friends safe on her own." He focused his eyes on the Queen. "Until she truly matures, I will be with them to keep them out of any trouble that Misaka-san may cause."

The white boy grinned a little and crossed his arms. "Off the record, she is pretty annoying . . ."

The Queen giggled. "Something we can agree upon~"

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". . . And when the wind was finally stopped he gave me his shirt to cover myself."

Saten was sitting on a bench in a small park eating a burger. She had decided to go for a walk instead of staying home for lunch and ran into a strange girl on the way. Still wanting to tell someone her dream, she began to unburden herself to the other girl.

"After that I woke up. What do think it means?"

Saten turned her head. Sitting next to her was a girl with long black hair wearing red and white robes, a cross hung around her neck. A burger the girl had been eating was being crushed in her grip. The miko spoke up in a flat voice.

"I think I hate you . . ."

" . . . um . . . does that mean you don't want to hear about any of the others?"

The strange miko girl twitched and grabbed the bag of burgers siting next to her.

"Another one." The girl stood up from the bench and started to hurry off. "That bastard . . . "

Saten watched the other girl leave and scratched her head.

" . . . Was it something I said?"

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When the Queen's giggling had finally subsided, the white boy spoke up.

"Now that I answered one of your questions, you can answer one of mine."

"Oh, my~ How demanding!" The young woman placed a gloved finger beside her lips. "Ask away~"

The white boy sent her a serious expression. "Are you the one who has been giving Saten-san her dreams?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure who this Saten-san is, but my powers don't directly relate to dreams." the Queen gave a little grin. "What kind of dreams are they?"

The boy rubbed his forehead. "I am not at liberty to say . . . "

"How mysterious~"

The boy waved off her comment. "Anything else?"

"What level fives do you have left to meet?"

"Numbers one and four." The boy gained a distant look in his eyes as he spoke. "Neither of which I am looking forward to . . ."

"My, my~ Trouble in paradise?" Misaki teased, but Kakine ignored her and continued.

"Also the number six." The boy didn't notice Misaki's subtle eye twitch. "I have no idea how to find that one, though . . ."

Misaki grinned and leaned forward in her chair. "Then you have come to the right place~"

" . . . Pardon?"

"Thanks to my network ability, I can get a hold of number six for you. I just ask for a little favor in return~"

Kakine raised an eyebrow. "What kind of favor, exactly?"

"I would like a date with Kamijo-san." Misaki stated without hesitation. "I know you have been hanging around him lately. Tomorrow night, if possible~"

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" _. . . !"_

"Yes, I am aware how hard you worked to ensure that there were no fatalities."

" _. . . "_

Ikari pinched the bridge of his nose.

"It doesn't change the fact that your bait managed to pull in seemingly every level five, but One and Six!"

" _. . . "_

"If your communication blackout worked, then how did Two, Three, and Seven arrive at the _same time._"

" _. . . !"_

"We both know the odds of _that_. It's more likely that someone or _something_ led them there."

" _. . . "_

"Yes, I am pleased that you were able to time the assault for when the Hero was indisposed."

Myuri's head snapped up when she heard the name.

" _. . . "_

"Are you certain your actions were untraceable? I don't want the divide between him and us to widen."

" _. . . "_

Ikari glanced at Myuri and noted her concern. He nodded to assure her.

"Fine then, whatever it takes"

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Kakine glared at the Queen. He knew she was being serious. She only sat and smiled as she waited for his response. He weighed the pros and cons, finally deciding that this was probably the only way he was going to find the number six. His reply was gruff and reluctant.

"I'll ask him. If he agrees, then fine."

"So then, I'll know sometime tonight?"

The boy shook his head. "I'm asking him right now. Give me a minute . . ."

" . . . !"

Misaki wasn't sure what to think as she watched the other level five standing there for several minutes, slowly turning his head from side to side, his eyes wandering around the room seemingly at random.

"Alright, I explained everything and Kamijo-san has agreed to meet with you."

Misaki was elated. "He said yes?!"

The boy began studying the backs of his hands. "Technically, he grabbed his head and bellowed 'Such Misfortune!' at the top of his lungs, but for him it's the same thing . . ."

The Queen fell back in her chair with a pout. "Well, half a victory is still a victory . . . "

"Are you going to tell me how to find the number six or not?"

The Queen gave an aggravated sigh. "I need to make some phone calls first. I'll meet with you in the morning to take you to him."

"Where should we meet?"

"There is a small park a few blocks south of School Gardens. 10 am."

Kakine nodded. That would work.

"I think it's about time to leave. Would you mind?" Kakine motioned with his head towards the frozen teleporter behind him. Misaki clicked a button on her remote.

"YOU– What? Why is this room destroyed?" Kuroko looked around in confusion.

"Things happened. It's time to go." The boy put his hand on her shoulder. His body dissolved away into nothing, leaving only a small white beetle perched there.

"Fine, but you own an explanation . . ." Kuroko grumbled and turned to leave.

"Have a nice day~" The Queen waved to the pair.

"Whatever!"

Misaki smiled as she watched Kuroko slam the door. After tapping the button on her remote, she pulled out her cellphone and called Makigami-chan.

"Gather the girls. We're going out for Hot Pot tonight~"

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"You know, Beetle-san, you haven't explained what happened back there yet . . . ."

Kuroko muttered as she ferried the small white beetle out of School Garden. The beetle let out an exasperated tone of voice as he responded.

"The Queen took you over, so I took a swing at her. _There_, are you happy?"

Kuroko blinked in surprise. _He_ had defended _her_? How did that happen?

"Why? I thought you hated Onee-sama and me . . . "

The beetle clenched down a little harder on her shoulder. "I never said I hated either of you."

" . . . Could have fooled me . . . ."

The white beetle grumbled a little. "I have come to accept the fact that you are both precious to Uiharu and Saten-san. If you genuinely needed me to defend you, then I would do so."

Kuroko stopped and looked at the beetle on her shoulder with a bemused expression. "Then do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"I have a feeling I know what you are going to ask, but go ahead."

Kuroko raised and eyebrow and asked the question she had wanted to ask for sometime.

"What is your opinion of Onee-sama and me?"

"I think I'm going to need a face for this . . ." The beetle blossomed onto the shape of a slender pure-white boy next to the nosy teleporter. Kuroko stepped back in surprise before looking around to make certain that they were alone. Seemed so . . .

The white boy rubbed his chin with his hands for a moment. He finally began to find words that seemed appropriate.

"I think you are both amazing people and you have the potential to be something that few people can."

"And what is that?" Kuroko asked, now intrigued by the boy's vague compliments.

"People who can be relied upon to keep others safe from the dark of the night."

Kuroko started to pout at the subtle jab. "Are you saying we aren't reliable now?"

Kakine scowled at her. "Uiharu told me about the 'truck incident' from a while ago."

Kuroko twitched.

"That happened on your watch, you know . . . "

Kuroko muttered and turned her head away from the level five's glare. "We would have stopped the truck shortly after . . . ."

The boy nodded, still not smiling. "And that's why I think you both need to take some time to grow up."

"WHAT?!"

_Now_, he was grinning. "I'm just saying that after you both gain a little maturity, you will be a force to be reckoned with."

Kuroko crossed her arms over her chest. "You better not be referring to what I think . . ."

"Perish the thought." He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. He started to walk off and Kuroko jumped forward to keep pace with him.

"Is that all?"

The boy smiled back at the teleporter. "You are friends of my friends. That's all that really matters to me."

Kuroko started to huff a bit from the effort. This guy could walk _fast_.

"Fine. One more question, then. What do you think about Kamijo-san?"

Kakine stopped in his tracks and turned to regard the girl with serious eyes.

"He is someone I trust more than anyone else. Even myself." The boy seemed lost in thought for a moment. "_Especially_ myself . . ."

"I . . . see . . . "

"We seem to be at the outer wall. I'll see you later." The boy began to dissolve away into smoky ribbons that curled and twined their way into nothingness. "Remember to bring a present for Banri-san."

"Yes, yes. We will, you undersized excuse for a dry-erase board."

She heard a voice floating down the wall from above. "I heard that . . . "

"Good!"

Kuroko grinned as she prepared her calculations to teleport back to the dorm and then abruptly disappeared herself. Business as usual was better than no business at all . . . .

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"_Fine then, whatever it takes"_

" _. . . "_

"We'll keep in touch, then. You're following through with the existing plan?"

" _. . . "_

"Understood. Just don't overestimate your reach."

" – "

The phone line went dead and the young man shook his head. He put his hand on the shoulder of the girl sitting next to him.

"We have to remember, Myuri-chan. Not everything is at it seems . . . ."

Myuri nodded as she put her feet up on the chair and hugged her legs. She muttered as she placed her chin on her knees.

"_A Storm is on it's way. She should take care . . . ."_

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Saten sat under the kotatsu in her apartment after she had finished her lunchtime walk following the rather tiring shopping trip that morning with Uiharu and Beetle-san. She made a gesture with her hands as she spoke.

" . . . And then he reached out with his hand."

"Uh-huh." Two voices as one breathed out in response.

Sitting across from Saten were her friends, Mikoto and Kuroko. They had run into Saten on her way home and agreed to join her for tea. And stories . . .

"I felt his fingers brushing my upper arm. Suddenly a strong wind from the open window blew away the covers on the bed . . . "

"Uh-huh . . . "

"He leaned forward to whisper something to me . . . "

"Uh . . . _H-huuuhhh_. . . "

"I could feel his warm breath tickling my ear, and then . . . and then . . . . Are you guys OK?"

The other girls immediately straightened up and started to babble.

"What do you mean, Saten-san?" Mikoto asked her friend.

"Don't stop now, Saten-san! I'm– You're almost there . . ." Kuroko groaned out.

Saten crossed her arms and sent the other two girls a measuring look. "Well, your faces are both bright red and you seem to be breathing _very_ erratically . . ."

Kuroko took on a commanding tone. "We're fine. Please continue."

Mikoto narrowed her eyes at her roommate. "Kuroko . . . where is your other hand exactly?"

Kuroko turned her head to the side. "It's . . . nowhere, Onee-sama. Where's yours?"

Mikoto gritted her teeth and looked the other way as well. " . . . It's . . . also nowhere."

Saten leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. Honestly, why?!

"I think I'm done talking for a while."

He friends tried to convince her to continue, but to no avail. Saten shook her head and fixed her eyes on the girls from Tokiwadai.

"I hope you and the others will all be on you best behavior when we meet Banri-san later . . . "

The other two girls responded without enthusiasm.

"Yes, ma'am . . . "

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A blonde starry-eyed girl closed the door to a small nondescript room. Seeing she was alone, she took out a remote and clicked a button to make certain her clique kept things that way. Putting away the remote control, she pulled a garish little cellphone out of her bag and dialed a number long since committed to memory.

" _. . . ?"_

"Hello, Nini-ue~ It's been a while!"

" _. . . ?!"_

"Yes, yes. I know we agreed not to communicate until the situation ability is resolved, but this is important~"

" _. . . ?"_

"I need you to meet with the number two tomorrow. Dark Matter."

"_!?"_

Misaki grinned at the outburst.

"I have a date ability with Touma-chan riding on it~"

An annoyed groan was emitted by the person on the other end of the line.

" _. . . ."_

"Glad to hear that, Nini-ue~ I'll send him to the shop."

" _. . . "_

"Whatever it takes to keep him off track will be fine. No permanent damage though~"

"_. . . "_

"Actor-chan might be a fun preamble . . . I'll see what I can do~"

" _. . . ."_

The blonde girl grinned from ear to ear.

"Then it's settled. Be seeing you, Nini-ue~"

" – "

The starry-eyed girl closed her phone and slipped it back into her bag, clicking the remote inside to release the previous compulsion.

"_Tomorrow will have so much fun power~"_

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Touma wasn't quite sure what to make of the scene before him. He had taken a seat at the corner of the table and a small fight had broken out as to who would occupy the chairs on either side of him. Uiharu seemed to be trying to force Saten into the chair on his right, while the long-haired girl fought tooth and nail to put Uiharu in the very same seat. Touma noted the bright red on Saten's face and hoped fervently that she wasn't coming down with the flu.

Touma looked to his left, in time to see Kuroko and Mikoto topple to the ground, tangled up like a pretzel. The teleporter had the Railgun in a headlock and was heedless of the other's sparking. Touma was confused when she took the opportunity to shout nonsense.

"Onee-sama!" She yelled. "Let this honey bee's little basket be the one to carry out the transfer from anther to stigma!"

"KUROKO!" Mikoto roared before putting the teleporter into a headlock of her own. "What is it that goes on in that head of yours?!"

The Railgun had the fever now as well, Touma noted with concern. He briefly wondered if some kind of epidemic was spreading through the female population of the city, before shaking his head. What were the odds of _that_?

"A-ah, Kamijo-san . . ." a voice spoke up from across the table. Touma turned his head to see the girl of honor, Edisaki Banri. "Thank you for being here. I'm sure you had much more interesting places to be . . . "

"Not at all, Edisaki-san." He replied with a smile. "It's good to see everyone so energetic."

The two chairs beside him suddenly found themselves filled. Mikoto on the left and Saten on the right, both bearing crimson cheeks and diverted glances. Kuroko picked herself up from the floor and cracked her neck before sitting down on the other side of the Railgun.

"Really, Onee-sama! That last move would be illegal in any tournament . . . "

Mikoto looked away, tossing her head with an unapologetic huff. "That's because it works."

Erii smiled. "It's nice to see everyone being so energetic! I can't wait to start eating!"

"Same here!" Touma placed his hand over the pot in the middle of the table. "I think the broth needs more time before we start cooking though . . . "

"Ah, this would be a good time to exchange gifts then!" Uiharu cheered and reached below the table to pick up a bag and hand it across to Banri. "We hope you like it!"

"'From Uiharu, Saten, and the Boys.'" Banri read aloud as she pulled a small box out of the gift bag and opened it. It was a charm bracelet with eight charms!

"It's beautiful!" Banri squealed as she put it on her wrist. "And it looks like there's a charm for each one of us!"

"That's right!" Saten nodded. "we picked them out that way."

"So what belongs to who?"

Uiharu spoke up excitedly. "The flower is me and the baseball bat is Saten-san."

Everyone nodded, it made sense. Saten picked up from there.

"The beetle is Beetle-san, obviously. The bandage is Kamijo-san!"

All eyes turned to Touma, who chuckled in a self-effacing way. "Rotten luck . . . ."

"The lightning bolt and hair ribbon are Misaka-san and Shirai-san respectively." Uiharu continued from where Saten left off. "The two phones represent the psychic link you and Haruue-san have!"

"That's amazing!" Banri wiped the corner of her eyes slightly. "Thank you _so_ much!"

Kuroko spoke up. "Ah, Edisaki-san. Onee-sama and I have something for you both as well."

Mikoto passed a small envelope to Erii, who then passed it to Banri. When the girls opened it, their jaws dropped.

Mikoto grinned and explained to the others. "It's an all-you-can-eat gift certificate to Pasticceria Manicagni for two people. It's also an entry pass into School Garden."

All remaining jaws had fallen by this point. Uiharu was in tears, flailing her fists around.

"Misaka-san ! ! !" She wailed. "That's so unfair!"

Kuroko sighed. "We're getting you one for your birthday, Uiharu . . ."

Uihari went back to normal with comical speed. "That sounds fair, Shirai-san."

Saten put up her hand. "Am I included?"

"Yes."

"WOOHOO!" Saten and Uiharu screamed out and started doing 'the wave'.

By themselves.

Touma cleared his throat when the girls finally calmed down. "This Kamijo Touma also had a gift for you. Unfortunately, misfortune set in earlier . . . ."

The girls looked confused as he continued.

"I made some pastries from a recipe off the internet. They were combination muffin-cheesecakes."

The girls started to drool at the thought. Touma scratched his head and continued in an embarrassed tone.

"After smelling them, my roommate bit my head until I lost consciousness. When I woke up, they were all eaten and I only had an hour before we were going to meet here . . . "

The girls all gave him a sheepish look. Banri tried to reassure the boy.

"It's alright Kamijo-san. I'm just glad you were able to make it."

The girls all nodded in agreement when a new voice spoke up from the entrance.

"_Oh my~ What an interesting coincidence ability~"_

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The boy was staring into the distance after the call had been completed. Interacting with the General was never pleasant. He had no choice but to bare with it. At least for the moment, anyway.

"Ikari-sempai?"

The boy looked over at his companion. There was an edge of vulnerability to her voice, a shaking in her tone that was almost unknown from her. He waited for her to continue.

"Does the pain ever go away?"

Giving his friend a pained smile. He put an arm around her shoulder.

"Do you remember the day Mairo-sama went to district four with the others?"

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Touma's eyes widened in terror when he heard that voice. It was a sign that his luck had just run out. When he turned his head he confirmed the truth. It was exactly who he though it was.

"Hello, Shokuhou-san . . . " He started lamely. "How are things?"

The Queen pouted. "I was hoping you would call me Mi-chan like we agreed the other day."

"I hardly know you!" Touma shouted, feeling appalled that she was bringing that up. "I only agreed so you would let Himegami and me leave!"

"Oh, really?" Misaki smiled and winked at the boy. "We have a great opportunity ability to get to know each other tomorrow~"

Touma was pale as a sheet. The reaction of the girls differed, however. Banri, Erii, and Uiharu were simply confused. Saten, having looked the new girl over from head to toe, went as pale as Touma. Mikoto and Kuroko took it the worst. The teleporter was twitching as she made choking motions with her hands in the Queen's direction. Mikoto sat sparking and slowly turned her head in the direction of the boy sitting next to her. Touma could swear he heard her neck making creaking sounds as it turned, like an old garden gate.

"Idiot." Mikoto hissed out between clenched teeth. "What does she mean by 'tomorrow' . . . "

"Uh . . . "

The smooth voice of the beetle sitting on the table spoke up before the paragon of misfortune could dig his own grave. "It's my fault, Misaka-san. Those were the number five's conditions for locating the number six . . . ."

The Queen posed and held her fingers in a 'v' framing her eyes. "It pays to be well connected~"

Mikoto half-way stood up, clenching the edge of the table. "Why you top-heavy– "

The Queen raised her hand to silence the human sparkplug. "My girls and I have a gift for Edisaki-san as well~"

"Huh?" Banri was astonished. "How do you know my name?"

The Queen smiled at the bemused girl. "Shirai-san's mind has as much subtly power as a highway billboard and is almost as three dimensional~"

Kuroko was now standing as well. She shouted at the irritating blonde while locks of hair writhed around the sides of her head. "How dare you read my most personal and private thoughts!"

"Please." Misaki waved her hand in a bored gesture. "Everyone sitting at this table can guess what you're thinking half the time and be right. I only confirmed it~"

She turned back to Banri with a grin and offered her a small envelope. The recipient looked at the contents with a confused face. The Queen explained.

"It's a coupon good for one favor from me and my clique. Anything you want, within my power and within reason, is yours. Choose wisely!"

"Thank . . . you . . . ?" Banri wasn't sure what to make of this.

"Now if you will excuse me, my girls and I have hot pot waiting~ I'm sure they'll want to hear all kinds of stories about Kamijo-san~"

The aforementioned boy's head snapped up. "What? No!"

He started to wave his hands around in a panic. "You'll probably make up all kinds of crazy inflammatory things that will result in nothing but an influx of fresh misfortune into this Kamijo Touma's already far too unpredictable life!"

Misaki only smiled, looking like a cat with a mouse. "You are welcome to join our group if you are so concerned about my storytelling ability~"

With that, the dam burst.

Mikoto, Kuroko and the Beetle were drowning themselves out with their own shouting. Uiharu, Erii, and Banri could only watch in awe as the uproar continued around them. Touma felt a pair of hands grip his arm. He turned to the right to see Saten staring at him. Her eyes were wide and edged with liquid as though she was watching him dangling off a cliff. Her hands tightened as he met her eyes.

He reached up and and covered them with his left hand.

"_I'm sorry for always bringing so much trouble . . . "_

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"_Do you remember the day Mairo-sama went to district four with the others?"_

Myuri flinched as Ikari continued.

"Do you remember what he told us before he left?"

She nodded, the liquid in her eyes threatening to spill with each passing moment.

"We were in this room when he received the call."

Myuri clenched at the legs of her pants as she buried her face in her knees.

"He crushed the last crystals on the ground and turned to us . . ."

The girl began to shake, letting out an involuntary sob.

"H-he said . . . "

The boy paused, rubbing the corners of his eyes.

"_I believe in miracles."_

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It had taken a few minutes, but the Railgun gang's table managed to calm down. The threat of being thrown out before they had a chance to eat turned out to be an excellent motivation . . . .

They had finally placed their ingredients in the pot and were enjoying the smell of the simmering broth when Uiharu pointed her finger to the ceiling.

"Ah, that's right!" She began to dig in the bag next to her chair. The other members around the table looked on with interest as a small laptop computer was placed on the table in front of her. Uiharu smiled at her friends and began.

"I have a lot of new information about that group I was telling you about the other day."

"Middle Line?" Kuroko wondered and Uiharu nodded in response.

"Exactly. I created a program that aggregates data from the official records with fuzzy searches among the rumor websites that Saten-san visits."

Touma scratched his head. "That's good, right?"

"Yes, it is!" She continued. "Results with the greatest collateral consistency among the details gets sorted to the top, even if it's not from the official channels."

Mikoto nodded, remembering how easy it was to have official records changed. Kuroko was getting impatient, however.

"Don't keep us in suspense, Uiharu." The teleporter waved at her friend to speed her along. "Give us the details!"

"Right." Uiharu glanced at the screen. "Middle Line is a large group of espers. Mostly level two and three."

The group leaned in, intrigued by this.

"The group was founded by an individual named Sotomawari Mairo."

Mikoto blinked upon hearing the name. The beetle on the table interrupted Uiharu's speech.

"That name sound's familiar somehow . . . "

Uiharu nodded at the beetle. "I'm not surprised. Sotomawari-san is the only known level zero to achieve level four."

Saten snapped her head up when she heard that. Mikoto snapped her fingers.

"I remember where I heard that name before! He was a potential candidate for level five not long ago!"

The beetle picked up from there. "That's right. Wasn't he the one favored to be the number eight?"

Uhiaru checked the screen and confirmed that this was true. Saten managed to find her voice and asked quietly.

"W-what happened to him then?"

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"_I believe in miracles."_

The boy called Ikari held his face in his hands, supporting them with his elbows on the table. The two of them were remembering that day.

"We had tried to convince him to stay, or at least bring us with him . . . "

The boy shook for a moment.

"He spoke about matters of conscience and pain. When he looked out the window, it started to rain . . ."

Myuri had long since given up any facade. "T-they were tears from a cloudless sky . . . ."

"Maybe, we had already gone crazy . . . ."

The girl pulled up her head, heedless of the bitter liquid from her eyes.

"We told him so!"

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"_W-what happened to him then?"_

Uiharu scratched her head in an embarrassed way. "The results aren't very consistent. The highest has only 45% probability of being correct."

"Don't just leave us with that!" Saten grabbed and shook her friend. "We need to know!"

"OK, OK!" Uiharu rubbed her head to clear the dizziness before continuing. "He seems to have disappeared after leading an assault on some underground project called 'Sunless Spring'."

Touma thought that name sounded familiar for some reason. "Sunless Spring?"

"Well, that is the name given by the rumor sites." Uiharu clarified. "The members of the group just called it 'the project'."

"Is there any information about this 'project'?" Mikoto asked.

"Nothing. Sotomawari-san was the only member to take part in the assault. He was joined by two unknown people that the other members of the group never met."

"Wait a minute." Kuroko interupted. "If their leader disappeared, then who is in charge of the group today?"

"Ah, before the assault, Sotomawari-san transferred authority over the group to a person called 'the General'."

"**WHAT ! ! !**"

All eyes were on the beetle after that outburst. He nearly bounced off the table trying to get closer to Uiharu.

"_Dark Matter, Who is the General?"_

"Uiharu, who is the General?!"

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"_We told him so!"_

The boy fell back into his chair and stared into the wall like it was a gateway to the past.

"He always was the one with experience and dreams . . . ."

Myuri nodded. "The one whose blood and sweat burned the brightest in the dark of the night."

"We tried everything to hold him back, but you remember what he said."

Myuri remembered. It was one of the most painful memories she had.

_. . . _

"_Ikari-kun, You have seen the evidence. You need to understand."_

"_WE CAN HELP YOU!"_

"_The General has shown us the aims of the project. This isn't your fight."_

"_We don't know the accuracy of this information!"_

"_We know the end result of acting too late. We can't afford to make that mistake."_

"_There isn't one of us here who wouldn't gladly stand with you in this!"_

"_I can't ask any of you to make that sacrifice. The three of us have the best chance."_

_. . . _

Ikari broke off as he shook his head.

"Then turning away, he reached for the door."

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"_Uiharu, who is the General?!"_

Uiharu flinched back in surprise. "I-I don't know . . ."

She focused on the screen again. "It doesn't give much information. Just that 'the General' joined the group in the period between Sotomawari-san achieving level four and his candidacy for number eight."

The beetle was shaking and started to pace on the table. "Then the group members would know . . ."

"Um . . . actually . . . the group members say that only Sotomawari-san physically met the General. Everything else was conduced over the phone."

The beetle hesitated. "That's better than nothing. What do they know?"

"Only that the General is female, sounds to be about high school age, and has a peculiar way of speaking."

"Peculiar how?"

"It doesn't say . . . "

The beetle groaned in frustration. "You need to let me see that data later."

"Of course Beetle-san. After we get home."

Kuroko took the opportunity to ask further questions.

"You said it was a large group of espers. How many and what is their goal?"

"There are no official member counts, but there are hundreds if not thousands of members."

Kuroko and Mikoto choked a little after hearing that. Uiharu continued.

"As for their goal, it is stated to be: 'We follow _him_ out from the dark'."

Erii blinked. "I . . . don't get it . . . "

Mikoto crossed her arms. "Apparently, they slavishly follow this Mairo person's orders for no better reason than any other despot."

Uiharu shook her head and returned firmly. "That's just the thing. The goal has nothing to do with Sotomawari-san."

Now everyone was confused. " . . . Huh?"

"He founded the group when he was still a level zero after an unknown individual saved his life."

Saten raised an eyebrow. "What kind of life saving event inspired someone to build a shadow government?"

Uiharu scrolled down the page a little. "His was saved from an attack by several high level espers. The person that saved him claimed to also be a level zero . . . "

Touma felt eyes on himself. He looked up to find Mikoto, Kuroko, and the beetle sending him suspicious glares. He quickly waved his hands around.

"Come on now! That description could be anyone!"

Uiharu scrolled the page a little more.

"The savior was described by Sotomawari-san as having spiky hair, and telling him that levels don't matter if you do your best to follow what you believe is right."

_Everyone_ was looking at Touma now.

"Uh . . ."

"Also." Uiharu continued. "This person was described as dismantling eight high level espers with one hand while holding a bag full of eggs in the other and complaining about misfortune the entire time."

Suspicious glares had by now been replaced with angry ones. Gritted teeth and crossed arms entered the field as well . . .

"Hey now!" Touma croaked out, waving his hands feebly to reflect the rage. "This Kamijo Touma doesn't remember anything like that happening! Don't blame this poor unfortunate soul!"

Finally the tension broke. Mikoto fell back into her chair and sighed. "I don't know why this surprises me anymore . . . ."

"Ignoring the 'why' for now, what does this group actually do?" Kuroko asked when she was finally able to relax her arms.

Uhiaru grinned. "Now that's the interesting part."

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"_Then turning away, he reached for the door."_

Myuri smiled briefly. "You and I both tackled him from behind before he could get out of the door . . ."

The boy mirrored her face for a moment. "That's when he said it."

_. . . _

"_What would HE say?"_

" _. . . "_

"_It's never wrong to believe in miracles. I believe in miracles. I have seen them in each one of you."_

" _. . . !"_

"_That's why I have to go alone. Everything will turn out the way it's supposed to"_

" _B-but . . . !"_

"_If I don't come back . . . find him for me. He's everything I can't be."_

_. . . _

Ikari rubbed his face "Then he pulled away and left."

"We collapsed in tears, grinding our fists into the carpet like a pair of preschoolers . . ."

The pair sighed and grew silent.

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_Uhiaru grinned. "Now that's the interesting part."_

All those around the table leaned in to hear what came next.

"They protect the low level espers from the high level espers and vise versa."

Saten pitched in. "That would explain the choice of name . . . "

Uiharu continued. "They are surprisingly good at it as well. Even if you only count the most likely evidence, they have a better track record of stopping high level espers than Anti-skill and Judgment combined."

"That's insane!" The teleporter knocked over her chair. "Justice isn't something to be left in the hands of the public!"

Mikoto was thoughtful. "How are they so effective?"

"Group tactics." The flowery girl explained. "After the General was incorporated into the group they practically evolved into a paramilitary organization."

"Such lawlessness . . . " Kuroko shook her head as she righted her chair and sat back down.

"That's not the interesting part." Uiharu grinned. "For all intents and purposes, they are the most effective power development curriculum in Academy City!"

"WHAA~"

The shock had gotten to the group, but their outburst was quickly suppressed when they realized that the entire restaurant was staring at them. They settled back with eyes large enough to pop out of their heads.

"You know how the group is mostly level two and three espers?" The others nodded. "When the group was founded a few years ago, it was all ones and zeros!"

The mixed gasps from the audience egged Uiharu on.

"When Sotomawari-san and the General were both present, many of the members gained two or more levels in only a few months!"

"What?!" Mikoto sputtered. "Is it a new Level Upper sort of thing?"

Uiharu shook her head. "I thought of that, but no member of the group was treated during that incident. Whatever it is they do, it's sticking."

"Wait . . . " Touma raised his hand. "What happened when they lost Sotomawari?"

Uiharu read through the results again. "Power gains dropped dramatically, but they are still higher than nearly any other program."

The beetle had been pacing for several minutes, but stopped and turned to the flowery Judgment girl.

"Do you think the 'Sunless Spring' was a rival project that they needed to quash? What was the leader's power?"

"I don't know anything about a rival project . . . " Uiharu cautioned. "But according to the power bank, Sotomawari-san had the ability to control probability."

A voice grumbled quietly. "_Rotten luck . . . ._"

"Like the probability for someone to develop powers . . . ." Mikoto trailed off, looking thoughtful.

Uiharu clapped her hands. "Ah, the food's done! That's all I had anyway . . . . Lets dig in!"

As the group began to tuck in, Saten found herself growing curious. The leader disappeared, right?

"_What if he wasn't really gone?"_

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After having excused herself from the table, Saten was washing her hands in the bathroom when she heard a cutesy voice call out from behind.

"Well now~ It's so good that I got the chance to speak with you alone!"

Saten looked up. Reflected in the mirror was the blonde girl from earlier who caused such an uproar at their table.

"Misaki . . . san?" Saten replied hesitantly as she turned to face the other girl.

"It's Me~" the blonde girl from Tokiwadi sang out, holding her fingers in a 'V' beside her face as her body took a contrapposto pose.

Saten felt caution welling up inside of her, remembering how the Blonde had spoken to Touma earlier. "Why do you need to speak to me?"

Misaki grinned. "I have heard you have been having some interesting dreams lately~"

Saten felt her eyes bulge and tried to take a step back, stopping when her back hit the edge of the sink.

"H–how do you know that?"

The girl winked. "I am well connected. Also, your little beetle let it slip when we met earlier today."

"O–oh, I though you read my mind or something . . ."

The starry-eyed girl began to pout and crossed her arms over her ample chest. "I don't know what Misaka-san has been telling you, but I am no bigger a monster than she is."

Saten began to feel awkward. "I–"

The other girl grumbled, furrowing her brow at the memories. "In fact, if you consider how many times Misaka-san has tried to shock Kamijo-san, my record pales in comparison . . . "

Saten scratched her head and looked away. "I apologize for my misconceptions. Why are you interested in my dreams?"

The level five smiled at the level zero. "I thought you might like to have someone to discuss them with. While my power does not directly relate to dreams, I have a greater understanding of the workings of the mind than almost anyone. I may be able to help give you some answers."

She gave a little pose. "Know thy enemy, right?"

Saten thought it over. It couldn't be any worse than how her friends were taking it . . .

"Very well, I'll do it. When do you want to meet?"

Misaki pulled out her cell phone and called up a map. She held it out for Saten to see.

"We can meet for tea tomorrow morning. Are you available?"

Saten nodded and noted the location of the shop. It was just down the street from where they were yesterday. "That will be fine. Thank you, Misaki-san."

Misaki grinned as she turned to leave. "No, thank you, Saten-san. I'm sure that tomorrow will be . . ."

Saten blinked as the girl left.

" _. . . Very interesting~"_

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Misaki was grinning from ear to ear as she led her clique away from the Hot Pot restaurant. She was humming a cheery little tune while she walked.

Oh, the _uproar_ when she blew Touma a kiss on the way out . . . .

"Now that was what I call real entertainment ability~"

"Ah, My Queen?" Misaki turned to see Makigami-chan was beside her. Red in the face as well . . . .

"Yes, is something wrong?"

The girl shook her head. "Not at all! I was just wondering, was all that you told us about Kamijo-sama true? It seems too amazing to be real . . . "

"Oh?" Misaki winked at her chief girl. "That was just the boring stuff. I haven't even gotten to the interesting stuff yet~"

" . . . !" Makigami-chan's eyes were large enough to serve dinner on. When she finally regained control of her mouth she stuttered her next thought.

"Th-then, I think we could use someone like Kamijo-sama in our group– Strategically speaking of course!"

The level five giggled. "Of course~"

Misaki then paused and turned to the other girls, posing with he fingers in a 'V' next to her face. "It's only a matter of time now~"

"A-ah, If you need a body for the mission, please feel free to borrow mine . . . " Makigami-chan muttered touching her fingers together in front of her very red face. This then prompted a chain reaction . . . .

"Mine too, Mine too ! ! !" The other members of the clique began to yell, waving their hands around and forgetting that they were supposed to be the paramount of cultured young ladies . . . .

Misaki chuckled at the antics of her girls. She couldn't really blame these cloistered girls' reactions to her stories.

"Duly noted. Now lets hurry back. We'll be needing all of our planning ability to get ready for tomorrow~"

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Myuri stood up. She grabbed the shoulders of her mentor.

"We know what we have to do! We have always known!"

Ikari blinked from her outburst.

"You remember just as well as I do! The light in his eyes! The joy in his voice as he spoke of the Hero! We can't let his dream die!"

The boy smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. The intensity had returned to her eyes.

"WE are one of THOUSANDS! We will bring _him_ home! _His_ dreams will lead us all!"

Her words filtered though his mind and echoed in his memories. The boy looked at his hand, slowly clenching into a fist. He hissed out in utter conviction the following words.

"The Disgrace will finally be made to see the light . . . "

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The Queen was resting in bed when her phone rang. Makigami handed the blonde haired level five her cellphone and took a step back. Glancing at the number, she clicked a button on her remote and answered it.

"Hello General~"

" _. . . "_

Misaki looked over at her now frozen and starry-eyed roommate. "Now is a good time, yes."

" _. . . "_

"I didn't have much chance to talk to him yesterday. We had an uninvited guest with us . . ."

" _. . . "_

"Because he would have been mad at me! It was bad enough the last time!"

" _. . . "_

"A girl doesn't usually get a second chance. I'm not going to blow this one . . ."

" _. . . "_

"As a matter of fact, I will be meeting both of them tomorrow!"

" _. . . !"_

"I'm just that awesome, that's how~"

" _. . . "_

"Don't get excited. Your schedule isn't my problem."

" _. . . "_

"And you know that I can't control more than 10 people, even with Facade. You only have four somnipaths in your group anyway . . . "

" _. . . "_

"If you can find more, then fine. Until then, don't rush me."

" _. . . !"_

"Stop yelling, I'm not deaf."

" _. . . "_

"Yes, I know how important this is . . . . The Dreamer will be firstborn of One. I'll contact you with any changes."

" – "

Misaki scowled as the phone line went dead. Snapping the phone closed, she settled her head back down on the pillow and pressed a button on her remote. The frozen girl came back to life.

"Huh– "

"Just a wrong number Makigami-chan. Good night~"

The girl scratched her head before turning to get into her own bed. "See you in the morning, my Queen . . . ."

Misaki sighed and closed her eyes. As she rolled to the side facing away from her roommate, she whispered in a strained voice.

"_Forgive me, my prince. For everything I do, I do for you . . . ."_

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**Author's Notes:**

Well there it is, I hope you enjoyed!

Yes, "Sunless Spring" is exactly what you think it is . . . .

Also, Nini-ue is Misaki's cutesy way of saying Ani-ue. That will be important later . . . .

Next chapter:

Misaki's got a date with Touma and a tea meeting with Saten all in one day!

Kakine getting cozy with the number six

Getting deep into the Saten dreams with the Queen!

For Reference:

Makigami-chan: means 'Curly hair' and is Misaki's nickname for the girl with ringlet curls.

Sotomawari: means 'perimeter' while Mairo is a Japanified version of 'Mylo'. Take that how you will . . .

Bonus points if you understand just how _creepy_ what Kuroko suggested/requested to Mikoto is when they were wrestling in the restaurant . . . .

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Edit:

Thank you all for reading, favoring, following, and most of all reviewing this fic! I'll keep working hard!

Reviews:

Lothar: Quite correct, Misaki was _very_ scared. Being a clever (and manipulative) girl, she quickly realized that if he intended to kill her he wouldn't have asked for an invitation. More on the General later . . .

Billy Ruffian: 'Sunless Spring' is the Rumor site's (incorrect) name for a canon project. Hint: Nitrogen.

Loopsey: Glad you liked the 'hand scene'. As for Kuroko, I guess you could say she still wants to get between Mikoto and Touma, only now for a different reason entirely . . .

Guest: Both Number six and The General are canon characters. I will not be revealing who they are in _this_ fic, but I will be leaving hints . . .

Finally, special thanks to: ADdude; JerichoCross; BloodTrinity; Guest (All of you!); Encendrel; The Darkbringer; LoveMadness; Clover; Lelyna; Loopsey; A Certain Unfortunate Guy; Blue-Sanctum; The Azure Heart; Billy Ruffian; Lenda; Lothar; Lobster; Laki; Arcane Valor; Luna Warsong; Neo Fan

THANK YOU ALL!

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Many thanks to all of you who have read, favored, followed, and most importantly reviewed this story.

It keeps these fingers on the keyboard!

Until next time,

Lets get Writing!


	6. Sanctis per Umbria

**He Will Surely Save, part six: Sanctis per Umbria**

**I do not own the RAILDEX universe.**

Author's Note:

And the winner for most pretentious chapter title in a fan fiction goes to . . . .

Greetings all!

I hope you haven't given up on me quite yet . . . .

Our story has now moved on to Wednesday. Kakine is meeting the mysterious number six and the Queen is meeting with both Saten and our spiky-haired Hero.

Enough Talk! On with the show!

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A pure white boy was seated on a low wall near the center of a small park located just to the south of School Garden. It was quiet at the moment and that suited him just fine. Despite what some may think, even a level five likes to get away from the drudgery of everyday life on occasion. Of course what some call 'drudgery' others may call 'mind blowing adventure', but to each their own . . . .

The number two of the level fives held a cellphone and was currently studying it like some newly found Rosetta stone. It didn't belong to him, he had borrowed it from Touma in order to speak with a mutual acquaintance.

He finally dialed the number and raised the phone to his ear. A male voice answered after a few rings.

" _. . . Boss? Is something up?"_

"Hamazura."

"_Beetle-san? Why do you have the Boss's phone?"_

"I borrowed it." The white boy stated, wasting no time on chit-chat. "I'm calling because I need information from 'you-know-what' relating to two individuals."

" _. . . "_

"I know you're still there Hamazura. I can hear you wetting yourself."

" _. . . Ah, Sorry. You caught me off guard with that request. Who are they?"_

"The names are Sotomawari Mairo and Saten Ruiko." The white boy responded. "I want to know if they were flagged as potential level fives."

"_Really?"_ The sound of scribbling was heard over the phone. _"I'll check it out. Anything else?"_

"Two things. Is number four available on Friday?"

"_Mugino? I think so, why?"_

"I need to speak with her in private. Can you pass that along?"

"_No problem. What was the other thing?"_

The white boy grinned. "I need you to hand the phone to Shorty McThighflash . . . ."

The sound of a delinquent struggling to not laugh could be heard on the other end of the line. A few seconds later a female voice, laden with irritation, rang out from the receiver.

"_I heard that, Beetle-san. You super suck."_

The boy replied with a chipper tone. "Always a joy speaking with the valedictorian of the Dark May project . . . ."

He heard a grumbling from the other end of the line.

"_Are you calling for a reason, or can I hang up? Because I'm super about to!"_

"Actually I have a question. Have you ever heard of the project going by another name? 'Sunless Spring', for example?"

There was a pause before the level four responded.

"_It could be a code name, but I don't ever remember hearing it being used . . . . Why?"_

The boy rubbed his chin briefly. "I came upon some information recently. Do you happen to remember an assault on the project that occurred in district four?"

The girl on the other end of the line took some time to think.

"_I think I remember that, but I super didn't take part in it. I was at a satellite facility at the time."_

Kakine raised an eyebrow. "Do you know someone that would have been there during the assault?"

"_I think dolphin-girl was there. It happened right before she super went postal and killed everyone . . . ."_

That was a good point. Why didn't he think of her in the first place?

"Perfect. I'll go see h–"

**BAM! ! !**

Without warning the white boy was thrown forward by an explosion near the wall where he was sitting. The bludgeoning impact sent him rolling onto the path where he came to rest. Righting himself, he saw the source of the attack. A slender young man wearing a leather jacket and a darkly amused grin. With a loud and cocky voice, he yelled out to the downed level five.

"So!" He locked eyes with the white boy. "I hear we are looking for number six. How unfortunate . . . ."

In one smooth motion, Kakine grabbed the cellphone and returned to a standing position. Hearing yelling from the girl on the other end of the line her returned it to his ear.

"_Beetle-San! I super heard an explosion! What's happening?!"_

"I have to go Kinuhata-san." He locked eyes with the boy as a set of white wings erupted from his back with a thundering sound.

"_It looks like I found some trash that needs to be taken out . . . ."_

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A young woman lies in a restless slumber upon her bed, each passing moment brings a turn of the head from side to side and a clenching hand upon the pillow or her sheets. She was an unquiet dreamer with a halo of black hair.

With a final gasp, she pitched herself bolt upright in the bed. Catching her breath at last, she cast her eyes down to her sweat-soaked sheets and murmured to herself.

"_The stars, we hung on the windows to block out his burning eyes . . . ." _

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"_It looks like I found some trash that needs to be taken out . . . ."_

The level five scowled at the boy standing on the wall, where he had up until that moment been sitting. He shouted to his attacker.

"Number six, I take it?"

"My name's not 'number six'." The boy grinned as he yelled back. "It's Aihana Etsu!"

"I don't care if your name is mud!" The seraph extended his wings, blocking out the sun. "Who ever you are, you picked the wrong beetle to mess with!"

With that, Kakine swung his wings down to strike the wall near the boy, raising a cloud of dust as it shattered beneath them. He could barely register surprise as his wings were violently blown outwards by some unseen force. As he stumbled, the boy raced out of the dust unleashing a phantom punch than blew the white boy several steps backward.

"WOO!" The leather jacket wearing boy shouted to the heavens. "You're going to have to do better than that, number two!"

The white boy growled at the challenge and swung all six wings horizontally to cut down the irritation. His jaw dropped when the boy barrel rolled in midair, avoiding his strike completely. The jacket boy started to cheer.

"Awesome! I never fought one of the other six be–"

A powerful gust of wind struck the boy head on, flinging him over the remnants of the wall where he had been standing earlier. He crawled back on top of the rubble and cracked his neck.

"That's it!" He yelled, pointing at the winged boy. "No more mister nice guy!"

Kakine curled his wings into a guarding posture while the boy began to wind up for another punch.

It was than that a new voice broke in, interrupting the fray.

"_Schizoid Man~"_

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Eggs!

Bringer of life!

And Protein!

It was the Wednesday morning free-for-all supermarket sale of Touma's dreams. While _he_ was trapped in school the delinquents got all the best middle of the week bargains!

Touma turned the corner and laid eyes upon it.

The last carton!

With tears of joy, the spiky-haired hero reached forward only to bump hands with another. He gritted his teeth and lunged . . .

Only for his hand to be slapped away.

Touma paid back the favor, and slapped the carton out of the other boy's grasp and caught it in his own.

This started the vicious cycle which quickly devolved into a less than manly slap-fight between the two boys.

All the while, each one had the same thought:

"_Man this crazy-haired guy looks **familiar** . . . ."_

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"_Schizoid Man~"_

At the sound of that bubbling voice, the leather wearing boy fell forward onto his hands and knees from his perch on top of the wall. The seraph's wings melted away in confusion.

As he cautiously approached the boy, he became aware of the sound of his muttering. After straining to hear for a moment he finally made out the words.

"number six . . . number six . . . number six . . . ."

This monotone was broken by the sound of another voice from a short distance away.

"Gemini~"

Kakine turned his head to look at the speaker. He wasn't surprised to see the number five. The leather jacket wearing boy was broken from his trance and slowly stood up. The Queen spoke to him with a familiar tone.

"Stand down, actor-chan~" She briefly stuck her tongue out at the white boy. "The number two has been invited to meet Nini-ue."

The faux six narrowed his eyes at the girl. "And why is that?"

The Queen threw a comfortable pose at the boy "Equivalent exchange ability~"

The boy's hands met his face as he groaned. "It was for a date with that boy, wasn't it? I don't know how you can be so trivial . . . ."

"Don't bite the hand that feeds you, actor-chan." she gave the boy a cold smirk. "Now run along."

With no small amount of grumbling, the faux six finally wandered off. Misaki turned to the other level five and took his arm in her own, ignoring the white boy's scowling face.

"So, shall we go?" She gave a wicked smile. "Beetle-san~"

The boy hissed in her ear as he tugged his arm free. _"Let go of me."_

"Oh, scary~"

The white boy regarded the girl as she fixed him with a cat-like grin full of playful malice.

"Are you taking me to the number six or not?"

"Right, right. He's this way~" She began to walk to the south, motioning for him to follow. Scowling deeper, he did so, but not before looking back towards the youth who had attacked him earlier.

"Who was that boy, anyway?"

The queen winked back at the number two. "Oh, actor-chan is just a red herring~"

"Red Herring?"

"Yes, he's a little collaborative project between myself and a certain manipulative high school witch with equally impressive bust size ability~" She paused and held her hands some distance from her own chest for emphasis.

Kakine narrowed his eyes "A friend of yours I take it?"

"I wouldn't call her a friend, exactly~" Her face took on a dark look as she began to pout. "You could say the two of us are after the same thing . . . ."

"I'd appreciate it if you stopped dodging the issue!" The white boy raised a fist in her direction. "Who is that boy?"

The Queen wrapped her arms around her chest as her face tightened. "The witch and I made a deal with him."

"And what deal would that be?"

"He allows himself to be willingly brainwashed by us into thinking he is the number six . . . " She trailed off as Kakine began to quietly growl at her. "And in exchange, he receives a massive jump in esper power~"

The queen giggled as the white boys eyes widened in shock.

"That may help explain why you had such difficulty fighting him~"

The number two level five stepped up to the girl in a menacing way.

"What is his power?"

"It's called 'Shadow Striker'~" The queen took the time to give a pose. "Don't bother looking it up. We already erased it from the databases~"

"What does it do then?"

"To put it simply, It allows him to attack an esper with their own AIM field."

"?!"

Pleased by the white boy's outburst, she continued. "Actor-chan uses his physical strength to create a compression wave in his AIM field. This creates an unstable shock wave when it encounters another field . . ."

"So the stronger the opposing AIM field . . . "

"Heh. He's most effective against level fives and least effective against level zeros." The Queen held her cheeks to cover the brief flush of red upon them. "Just like another candy-sweet boy we both know and love~"

" . . . "

"Now, now! Don't get all quiet on me~" The queen finally paused in her casual stroll. Kakine noticed they were outside a small bakery. He vaguely remembered passing it on the way to the park. "The real number six is inside. He'll be expecting you~"

"I have one more question, if you don't mind." The Queen canted her head, which Kakine took as a sign to continue. "Why did the boy freeze up earlier?"

"We have a code phrase to deactivate him if he becomes troublesome~"

The white boy raised his eyebrows. "And you are comfortable with me knowing it?"

She gave a pose. "It's keyed in to my voice and the voice of that witch only. It won't do you any good~"

"Is that so . . . ?"

"Right, if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment to keep." The Queen waved as she walked off in the opposite direction. "Ta-ta, Beetle-san~"

The white boy watched with a glare as the other level five strutted off. As she turned a corner, he opened his mouth, only for a familiar girlish voice to bubble out of it . . .

"_Schizoid man~"_

A dark grin gradually pulled across his face.

Without another word, he turned and entered the bakery.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

It was a little after 10am when Saten finally left her bed. She was feeling groggy and decided a bath was in order. She would eat a little afterwords, but not too much, she didn't want to spoil her appetite for her meeting with the Queen later.

She just hoped that the Queen would be able to make sense of these dreams . . . .

As she brushed past her cellphone, she noticed a massage and felt herself going a bit red when she opened it.

_Saten-Chan~_

_We can meet at noon today!_

_Kisses_

_The Queen_

Saten shuddered when she realized that she hadn't given the Queen her number yesterday. Shaking her head, she dialed Uiharu's number and smiled at the chipper tone on the other end.

"_Good morning, Sleepy-san!"_

"Morning. Do you want to come over for breakfast?"

"_Sorry, I already ate. I would just come over, but Shirai-san needs me at the office."_

"Judgment work?"

"_I assume so . . . . She said it was urgent!"_

"Then you'll be busy today?"

"_Probably. We should have breakfast together tomorrow!"_

Saten laughed. "That sounds good. Don't let me sleep too late."

"_No Problem! See you then Saten-san!"_

"Bye~" Saten hung up and placed her phone down on the desk. She grinned.

"Bath time~"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

A small bell chimed as the number two level five entered the small bakery. He closed the door behind him and cautiously began to take in his surroundings. Seemed innocent enough . . .

"Welcome Home!" Kakine's head snapped to the side, where he found a pretty young woman dressed in a maid outfit. "Can I get you a menu?"

The white boy could only stand there blinking, nonplussed by the girl's professionalism in the face of his unearthly appearance. He hated to admit it, but he was impressed . . .

"Actually . . . " He managed to croak out. "I'm here to meet the number six."

"Of course!" The girl sang out in a regal tone and bowed. "He has been expecting you. Please follow me . . . "

With that the girl turned on her heels and briskly walked down a small hallway in the rearmost left hand side of the shop. Kakine followed her as they passed the kitchen, a narrow set of stairs, and finally a sharp corner. The girl waved him into a darkened room with a single table. Sitting in front of the white blinds covering the window was a slender male. Kakine couldn't make out his features, silhouetted as they were by the light dimly filtering through the covered window. There seemed to be a grin on the other boy's face and something was glinting metallic near his head as he tilted it from side to side. The mysterious boy spoke.

"Who are you?"

"The new Number Two. I–"

"Whose side are you on?!"

The number two grimaced, seeing where the conversation was heading. "That would be telling . . ."

"What do you want?"

The white boy felt his fingers curling into fists. "We want information."

"You won't get it!"

Kakine was gritting his teeth. " . . . We will. By hook or by crook, we will."

"Who is number one?"

His eyes began to twitch as he answered. "You are number six."

The mysterious boy seated at the table threw his head back and screamed out to the heavens.

"I am not a number! **I AM A FREE MAN ! ! !**"

Kakine felt his face fall forward in frustration. "You have been waiting a long time to do that, haven't you . . . ?"

The white boy could hear the amusement in the other boy's voice when he responded.

"Since the very first day . . . So why are you really here?"

Now it was Kakine's turn to grin at the boy.

"Believe it or not, I _am_ here for information . . . ."

"?!"

"_I take it that the Queen didn't mention why I wanted to meet with you then . . . "_

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The end of the grocery store sissy slap-fight found the two boys locked in a strange battle of posturing and Kung Fu poses.

Touma made a broad gesture with his arms and bent his knees into a straight lead posture. "Why won't you repent?"

"This is the path I have chosen for myself. With guts!" The boy wearing a white headband replied, taking a crane pose that would have made the Karate kid proud . . .

A boy named Yabumi pushed a cart past the two of them. He found them locked in a vicious mutual cheek-pulling battle .

"Stop acting like idiots in public."

All in all, just a normal Wednesday in the life of Kamijo Touma . . . .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::

"_I take it that the Queen didn't mention why I wanted to meet with you then . . . "_

"She did not specify beyond meeting with you."

The white boy grinned as he stared down the silhouetted boy. "Then this will all be new to you. What fun."

"Unless you plan to stay for tea, why don't you just get on with it?" The boy responded with a bored tone, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the table top.

"Fine." Kakine brought himself into serious mode. "How do I know that you are the real number six?"

"How would you know if I wasn't?"

The white boy's face took on a sheepish scowl. "Point taken . . . ."

"Regardless, my information isn't in the official records." The other boy leaned forwards. "We took care of that. I also don't test quite like the other level fives."

Kakine narrows his eyes. "I don't suppose you plan on telling me how exactly?"

The glint of the other boy's teeth could just barely be seen.

"Even the science side has its stigma . . . ."

" . . . " The white boy let out a slow breath. " . . . Why does every level five besides me have to utterly suck?"

The number six raised his hand to his face and made a sound like radio static with his mouth. "KRRKCH . . . . Houston, We have an ego . . . ."

"While I would _love_ to comment on that baseless allegation . . . " Kakine leaned forward to emphasize the seriousness of the situation. "I'm here to learn if you have someone."

The other level five only tilted his head to the side in confusion, his hands gripping the edge of the table. The white boy continued.

"I want to know if you have someone to live for." He pointed over his shoulder in the direction of the hallway behind him. "Now prove to me that you aren't a monster in need."

The other boy seemed to become tense. His head dropped towards the table and Kakine became aware of the creaking sounds emanating from it. The number six whispered, seemingly to himself.

"One day . . . "

". . . Pardon?"

"One day he _will_ wake up." The boys grip on the table intensified. "And I _will_ beg him to forgive me for what I did . . . ."

"!" Without warning, the table shattered into splinters of wood from the pressure of the boy's hands. Kakine jumped backwards in shock, feeling his back hit the wall behind him. The number six looked up at him.

"Until then, I will keep him safe. I'm not going to let anyone change that."

" . . . "

Before Kakine had a chance to compose himself, a distant rumble very much like thunder caused the two boys to turn their heads to the north.

"Aneki!"

Where the number six had been there one moment the next he was gone. Kakine felt the rush of wind from the other boy's exit and the resulting sonic boom shattered the room's only window. The number two extended his mind out to his other selves in the area, but all came up blank. The path of the wind burst suggested a northbound track.

Kakine knelt down in front of the pile of debris and picked up a piece. He ran his finger over the jagged edge of the splinter, nearly as long as his own hand. Letting it go, it landed with a sharp sound. He remembered the number six's voice, clearly faking an accent. What was it? Kansai?

The boy turned his head toward the hallway and wondered, the tension evident in his voice.

" _. . . Who are you?"_

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The Queen had a slight bounce to her step as she walked. She grinned as she remembered sicking Actor-chan on that nosy bug. She had just turned a corner on the way to the tea shop when she heard a boy speaking like a mother to a troublesome grade school student.

"Sogiita-san, I going in this shop to buy you new dishes. Knowing you, I'd rather not have to buy everything in the store when you break it all."

"You know my guts better than I know them myself, Yabumi-kun! That in mind, can _you_ tell me how my powers work?"

The boy in question twitched and pointed a finger into the headband wearer's face.

"Just stand in this spot right here. And. Be. Good!"

"Aye-aye, my captain!" The headband boy saluted the other, who simply sighed in exasperation and walked into the store.

This seems to be an opportunity . . . .

Misaki walked over to the white dressed boy and planted herself directly in front of him. She opened her mouth to speak.

"He dreams of miracles. The joy in his eyes selects all possible. With guts!" Sogiita yelled into her face.

The Queen flinched and took a step back, her eyes widening in terror at the words tumbling out of the white dressed boy's mouth. She finally reached a hand into her bag and returned her own salvo.

"I had only come over here to tell you off for stealing the spotlight ability during the Daihasei . . . "

The Queen pulled out a remote. It was noticeably larger than the others she tended to use. "But you just made yourself a liability somehow."

"There's time for it, don't let it slip away! Don't forget she's there! She's there!"

Misaki raised her eyebrows in confusion. Her eyes rolled off to the side and she muttered into the untold distance.

"Facade, sweety, I think we're going to have to give this everything we have." Her eyelids drooped as she turned her head from side to side. "Request that the General give full priority in her own domain. Open the loop."

The Queen's eyes snapped open and her dilated pupils were set on the Seventh of the Seven. Like a weapon, she raised the remote at arms length in line with eye level. The boy only tilted his head in confusion.

She clicked.

It was then that it happened.

The Queen was thrown back by the shock wave which erupted like a sea of lightning from around the boy. She hit the ground hard and rolled a short distance before hitting the wall of the building behind her. After she came to rest she opened her eyes.

She wished she hadn't.

The boy was standing there, his head was in line with the ground and he stood still, his arms limp by his sides. His form was partially obscured by a wash of mirage-like shimmering in the air. Lightning jumped from cracks that opened from every surrounding surface. Cracks that were bursting with light and unimaginable sounds which echoed into the girl's very soul.

The Cracks rippled and crawled like worms around the boy. First breaking open, then healing themselves like they were never there.

The boy whispered. "_Yes, I can read you loud and clear . . . _"

" . . . "

"_I can hear you calling me . . . _"

"W-wait . . . "

"_I can hear you calling me . . . home from the great escape._"

"I-I don't . . . "

The boy's head snapped up as his eyes met the girl's. She shivered at the unearthly look that boiled out of them. It was no longer human. She could feel the tears begin to roll down her face.

"P-please!"

"A bridge once built can be passed both ways . . . " The boy raised his hand and a wall of shimmering . . . _something_ . . . formed behind him. His next words were terrifyingly nonchalant.

"Now, a word from our sponsors . . . "

The Queen finally found her voice and shrieked out to be delivered from this nightmare.

"**Someone, please save me!**"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

A small silver nun sitting in front of a television screen suddenly clutched her head and fell backwards. She rolled screaming on the floor as a spiky-haired boy rushed into the room from the kitchen. He yelled out in a panic.

"Index! What's wrong?!"

The little nun stopped and shivered. She sat up and hugged her legs as the tears began to roll down her cheeks, soaking into her habit.

"Touma . . . " She whispered in a breaking voice.

"_For just a moment, it felt like all the mana in the world was ripped apart and reassembled."_

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Number Six bounded from building to building towards the north, each leap breaking the sound barrier several times over. It didn't take him long before he was a witness to the scene unfolding below.

The Queen was cowering before a shimmering wall of . . . something . . . that was seemingly being controlled by the number seven. The boy did a near double take when he realized that, yes, it was the number seven on the offensive. He couldn't understand it, crazy though he was, Seven was usually benign. He couldn't imagine the Queen challenging him, though . . . .

Not wasting any more time, the boy took a flying leap that brought him the rest of the distance to the location of the fight. Wincing as he passed through the other boy's AIM field, he landed next to the Queen and unceremoniously scooped the shaking girl up. Cracks were appearing and disappearing around him in the very air he was breathing as he once again took off, one bound taking him over a block away.

With a heavy thump, he landed on the roof of a tall building and set down his shivering cargo. He crossed his arms over his chest and spoke in a firm voice.

"_Aneki_."

The Queen reluctantly opened one eye. "Nini-ue?"

"What did you do to Seven?"

"Nothing!" The girl stood up indignantly and began to brush herself off. "At least nothing that should have caused that . . . ."

Six raised his eyebrows and sighed. "So you _did_ do something . . . . Why?"

"He named the Dreamer."

Six dropped his jaw and took a step back before he was able to stutter out a response.

"**What?!**" He flailed his arms and grabbed the girl by the shoulders. "How is that possible?!"

The queen didn't meet his eyes. "I don't know. According to the Railgun's pet, it happened on Monday."

"How could he know?" The boy's head flinched back for a moment. "Do you think they went behind your back?"

"It's possible, but I doubt it . . ." The Queen shook her head and began to walk to the edge of the roof. "Do you think you can take him?"

"No." Six shook his head firmly. "When I took in his AIM field earlier, it felt like my internal organs were being twisted and ripped apart."

"Really?!"

"Yes." The boy joined her by the edge and looked into the distance. The number seven seemed to be staring in their direction, despite the distance, but otherwise was not moving. "You may need to give your boyfriend a call for this one . . . "

"He isn't my boyfriend." The girl began to pout. "Not yet anyway . . . "

"Ooo! We have us a fighter then~" The boy ignored the Queen's replying backhand smack as he caught sight of something in the distance. "Hello~ . . . There is a boy with number seven now. He's waving his arms around and the shimmering seems to have stopped."

"Who is it?"

"Can't tell." Six abruptly turned his head to the southeast as though he was responding to some silent alarm. "It feels like number two found our position. I'll leave him to you. I'm out!"

With that the boy disappeared from the rooftop, the sonic boom marking his exit. The Queen unplugged her ears just in time for a white boy to blossom into existence next to her.

" –stard! How did he know I was coming?"

"He does that~"

Kakine turned to the Queen. "What happened here?"

She looked off into the distance. "I had a scare ability with the number seven. He seems to have left, though . . . ."

The white boy scowled and placed his hands on his hips. "I don't feel like arguing now."

"That's fine with me~" The Queen winked at him with a playful grin. "Does this mean I get to be carried home by an angel?"

"The stairs are _that_ way." The white boy pointed behind her. "We're walking and _you're_ carrying."

With that he placed a hand on her shoulder, the Queen wincing as he clamped down. In a moment his body dissolved away into sheets of white smoke, a small white beetle perched on her shoulder being the only remnant.

Clenching her fists and pouting like a spoiled toddler, the Queen stormed in the direction of the stairs. She refused to give the bug the satisfaction of hearing her complain. In the back of her mind, she made an addition to her list.

"_This isn't over."_

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The young man was examining a set of dinner plates when it happened. The loud rumbling from outside startled him for a moment, but he managed to keep his grip on the items and set them back down gently. Annoyed, he shook his head and moved on to the next set. He muttered as he picked them up.

"Honestly, is ten minutes too much for you?"

His head snapped up when an unearthly rippling groan erupted from outside. It was joined by the sound of shrieks from the front of the store as everything began to shake in resonance with the sound.

"Seriously?!"

He took off towards the front of the store in hopes of bringing some sanity back to the ticking time bomb in the white headband. When he finally reached the door his jaw dropped.

Sogiita was attacking some blonde girl!

He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Yes, it _was_ happening! He had to stop this!

As he was opening the door to the shop, a flicker caught his eye. For the briefest of seconds, a blur paused in front of the girl and in the blink of an eye she was gone. Yabumi wasn't sure what to make of this.

"SOGIITA!"

He yelled and started running over to his friend. The cracks randomly opening and closing in the ground were making the process difficult. He finally reached the Seventh's location and began to flail his arms in a fury.

"Sogiita! You come back right now, do you here me?!"

The boy flinched when the boy in the headband turned to face him. The look in his eyes was unlike anything he had ever seen from him. Yabumi pointed his finger in the other boy's face and began to shout over the din.

"Sogiita! I don't know what that girl did to set you off, but she's gone now!"

The roaring was beginning to subside as the shimmering mirages washed out into nothing. A warm, but strangely mature look entered the white-clad boy's eyes as he smiled. The seventh placed his hands on the other boy's shoulders and spoke to him in a reassuring way.

"It's alright now. I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble, _Haratani-san_."

Yabumi pulled out of the boy's grip and stumbled back in shock. His eyes narrowed as he growled out his next statement.

"You have _never_ called me that. Not even once." He stepped up to the gemstone and gritted his teeth. "Who are you?"

"I am the Seventh of the Seven." The white clad boy nodded sympathetically. "I haven't been very respectful of you, have I? I suppose that's something to work on . . . "

Yabumi was growing increasingly concerned. "Sogiita-san, if something's wrong, you can tell me."

The level five simply smiled and waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Thank you for being concerned, Haratani-san, but I'm fine."

Yabumi twitched at the sound of his own name passing the gemstone's lips. It felt like hearing your name being called for final judgment. It was not pleasant. The level five rubbed his chin and continued.

"I am feeling a bit tired, though . . . " He tilted his head at his companion. "If it's alright with you, I would like to head back to the dorm and turn in early."

"S-sure . . . "

The white-clad boy then turned and motioned the other to follow him.

"Everything is fine, Haratani-san." he nodded as he spoke over his shoulder. Yabumi felt a wash of icy cold prickles flow over him and into his very core as the gemstone's words drifted past him.

"_I have a feeling that tomorrow will be a beautiful day."_

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The Queen was running late . . . .

Saten could have been annoyed by this fact, but was having a hard time at it. The fact that Misaki had insisted that Saten's bill be placed on her tab didn't hurt.

The shop was very comforting and she wasn't particularly in a hurry. With Uiharu busy for the day, it wasn't as if she had anywhere else to be. Silently sipping her tea, she sighed in contentment and continued to sample from the enormous platter of (she assumed _very_ expensive) pastries that the server brought over.

The front door's welcome bell chimed just as the antique grandfather clock against the far wall struck 12:30. Saten turned to see that it was the Queen at last.

"Ah, very sorry, Saten-chan!" the Queen paused with her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath. "I had an unscheduled meeting which delayed me."

"I understand. I was enjoying myself anyway." Saten replied as the Queen caught her breath and seated herself across from the dark haired girl. Like magic, the server brought Misaki a cup of tea.

"So then . . . " Misaki smiled at the other girl. "Are you ready to talk?"

"I suppose so . . . "

"Then I'm all ears~" the Queen winked and posed at her companion.

" . . . Very well . . . " Saten took a deep breath and began to describe her most recent dream in detail.

_In the dream, I am asleep on a bed. A large bed, enough for two people. The room is unfamiliar and very large, square in shape with a double door and three windows. The walls are silvery grey and blank. _

_I am awoken by the sound of the door opening. Kamijo-san appears from outside the room and walks slowly to the bed. He kneels down beside me and traces his hand up my arm until it rests on my shoulder. I turn my head away._

_He leans forward and I can feel his warm breath on my ear. He whispers to me._

"_Will your light be the one to lead them home?"_

_The window behind the head of my bed blows open and a strong wind blows through the room. I feel Kamijo's hand grip my shoulder as the bed sheets are blown away._

_I shiver and look up. There is a young boy standing in front of the window. He had white skin and white hair. His voice was breaking up._

"_I'm sorry." The boy said, tears dropping from his red eyes, making a puddle of the same color form around his feet. "I'll make it up to you . . . "_

_The boy raised his hand out to his side at shoulder level. Kamijo stepped in front of the boy with his right hand in front, like a shield. _

_The wind increased and the walls melted away like snow, but the windows and door remained in place. The bed underneath me separated into tatters that blew away into nothingness like leaves. I sat on the floor and held on to Kamijo's legs to take shelter from the wind. _

_The long shirt I had been wearing began to tatter and come apart. I held onto it as best as I could. _

_The boy grew wings the same color as his hair and skin and as they opened, they cracked and bled. He cried out to me in a loud voice._

"_Stormfront! You may be the first, but will you be the last?"_

_The boy was then sucked outside of the room and stars fell from the sky. They landed all around us, glittering like gemstones._

_I became aware of the sound of breathing from the other side of the closed door. I couldn't see it, but I knew that it was a demon with a body made of black smoke._

_Kamijo picked up the stars that fell to the ground and hung them on the windows to block out the light from the demon's burning eyes. The full moon waned like a closing eye and disappeared from the sky._

_The wind then fell to nothing as he turned back to me and gave me his shirt to cover myself._

"And, that's where I always wake up." Saten concluded.

"How interesting~" The Queen grinned at the other girl. "When was the first time you had this dream?"

"Less than a week ago." Saten thought for a moment and continued. "I think it started Friday."

"Is this dream ability always the same?"

Saten wavered and then shook her head. "There is always some variation in the details, but most of what I described to you is what happens in them."

"I see . . . " The Queen looked thoughtful and brushed her cheek with a gloved hand. "Saten-chan, are you familiar with the concept of lucid dreaming?"

Saten hesitated. "That's when a person knows they're dreaming, right?"

"Fundamentally, yes . . . " The Queen sipped her tea. "This awareness allows the person to control the path ability of their dreams as they see fit."

Saten leaned in as the Queen continued.

"Interestingly, this is not a common phenomenon, no matter how outlandish one's dreams are." Misaki winked at the other girl. "For example, do you often wake up with Touma-chan in your room?"

"WHAT?!" Saten yelled and jumped out of her chair. Her face was bright red as she sputtered out a response. "Of course not!"

"And yet you take the dream as reality while it's happening~"

Saten went silent and sank back into her chair. "That's true . . . . "

"If you took control of the dream you would be able to do . . . _whatever_ you wanted to Touma-chan, couldn't you~"

"Hey!" Saten pounded her fists on the table.

"Joking, joking~" The Queen giggled. "I wouldn't just roll over and let that happen . . . "

" . . . Wait, what?"

"Regardless . . . " The Queen waved her hand. "You may consider controlling the dream, if you are able."

"To do what?" Saten looked away unable to meet the Queen's eyes.

"Try to find that child."

"The pale boy?" Saten turned back to fix the Queen with a questioning gaze.

"Yes, he seems to be the focus of whatever is going on in that naughty little head of yours~"

Saten crossed her arms with a pout and looked away, refusing to give the level five the satisfaction of a response.

"It's interesting, though . . ."

Saten turned her head back in confusion.

"Lucid dreams and personal realities are very similar . . . " The Queen smiled and winked at the uncomfortable girl sitting across from her. "In both cases, you are trying to force your will onto a world you never made. Perhaps you should think about it like that~"

"I see . . . " Saten stood up. "I think I've heard enough. Thank you for the tea."

"My pleasure. Lets do this again sometime~"

Saten paused uncomfortably on her way out. "I'll . . . think about it . . . ."

"Of course you will . . . ." The Queen whispered with a grin as she watched the level zero exit the shop. She took her cellphone out of her bag and dialed an unlisted number.

It connected.

" _. . . ?"_

"It's me."

" _. . . ?"_

"Yes, she is exactly where she needs to be.

" _. . . "_

"Just watch for the signs. It won't be long now~"

" _. . . ."_

"Best of luck with your other projects. If you succeed– "

" – "

The line went dead. Misaki stared at her phone briefly with a scowl before she snapped it closed. "If you succeed, General . . . "

"_He will crucify you."_

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sogiita had bathed shortly after the two had returned back to their dorm. Afterwords, he slipped into bed with no other words than a standard good night wish.

It had been about an hour and Yabumi was certain that the gemstone was now asleep.

He tiptoed out of the apartment and took a walk to the end of the hallway. Upon arriving, he pulled out his cell phone and searched through the contacts list.

He found a number that had been entered into his phone only yesterday. Yabumi furtively glanced around before he finally dialed the number and raised the phone to his ear.

The phone range four times before it connected.

"Konori-san, It's me." He stated without bothering with a greeting.

"_We have a problem."_

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Early evening had arrived in Academy City.

A girl with short brown hair and a Tokiwadai uniform pressed her back against the wall of the alley. From where she was she could just barely make out the two people within the tea shop across the street. Leaning her head back, Misaka Mikoto let out a sigh and began to mutter to herself.

"I know that idiot will be fine." She stated to no one in particular. "I know that and yet here I am, in an alley and spying on his date with that witch like some kind of stalker."

She shook her head and continued.

"There are many questions that this raises. The biggest one being . . . " Mikoto turned her head to the side. "Why is Kuroko here with me?!"

"Really Onee-sama." The teleporter crossed her arms. "As a member of Judgment, I can't let someone be taken over by an untrustworthy individual, now can I?"

Mikoto chose to ignore the other girls rosy cheeks and continued.

"Fine, I'll buy that. Then answer me this next question. Why is _Kongou-san_ here?"

"That's very simple, Miska-san." The regal girl snapped open her fan and waved it in front of her face. "As your matchmaker, I have to keep a close eye on your competition!"

Mikoto twitched and turned, slamming her forehead into the wall.

"We are going to need to have a long and serious talk at some point Kongou-san" She grumbled out, before turning to the girls once again. "One final question."

Mikoto stepped forward and pointed with an almost accusing gesture deeper into the alley. "_Why_ is Uiharu here as well?!"

"I was told there would be cake . . . " The girl with flowers in her hair stated sheepishly before starting to pout. "I had assumed that we would be eating it . . . . "

Mikoto stood frozen for a moment. That _would_ bring Uiharu almost anywhere . . . .

"Fine, we seem to be together for the duration then. I just wish we could get a better look at what's going on inside . . . ."

"No problem Misaka-san!" Uiharu pulled out a small laptop and powered it up. "I'll just hack into the shop's security cameras and we'll have a front row seat."

"!"

Kuroko folded her arms with a smug expression on her face. "There, Onee-sama, aren't you glad we played the cake card now?"

Mikoto simply growled and started to shove her junior. "Just move over and let me see what that idiot is doing . . . "

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The Queen was a study in elegance.

She wore a graceful black dress that cut off just above the knees and fitted _just_ close enough to accentuate her body while still leaving room for the imagination. Lacy gloves and stockings completed the ensemble. With a casual grace, she sipped from the tea cup resting in her hands and let out a contented sigh.

The inside of the tea shop was brightly lit with an austere motif. Simple patterns and comfortable furniture were the dominant features of the room where the Queen was sitting. She wasn't interested in the décor, however. Seated across from her was the promised lad, Kamijo Touma, with his right hand firmly clamped to his head. Where it had been located since the teen caught sight of her earlier.

"Touma-chan~" The queen pouted and leaned forward. "How long are you going to hold your hand there?"

"That depends." Touma replied as he regarded her with narrowed eyes. "How long do dates usually last?"

"Oh, come on now~" The Queen grinned as she held her face in her hands, resting her elbows on the table. "I'd never try to take you over and use your body ability to satisfy any unspeakable urges . . . ."

" . . . " The dropped jaw and lack of facial color insinuated to the Queen that the boy was not particularly convinced . . . .

" . . . Fine." The Queen picked up her bag from the floor next to her and handed it across the table. "These are all my remotes. My level five power is just about unusable now."

Touma took the bag of remotes. "Really?"

"Really~" She closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair, making a fainting pose. "I am completely at your mercy! Is that type of play ability in your strike zone?"

Touma scowled and opened the bag. It was filled to the brim with anything that could even vaguely qualify as a remote. He closed the bag as the Queen opened one eye and took on playful tone.

"Entering my purse uninvited . . . I feel so violated Touma-chan! You better take responsibility~"

"Are these all the remotes you have?" Touma questioned, ignoring the girl's goading.

"Well . . . " The Queen stood up and placed her hands on the wall next to her. "I may or may not have some strapped to my thighs. You are welcome to pat me down, if you are so worried about it~"

A loud thump brought the Queen's eyes back to the table. It seemed that the boy slammed his forehead into it a moment ago . . . .

"Oh come on now, don't be shy~" The queen wiggled her hips as she leaned forward against the wall. "Just start with the rump roast ability and we'll work our way up from there!"

"Such misfortune . . . ."

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A young woman glared through a pair of binoculars focused on the window of the fancy tea shop across the street. From her upper floor vantage point she could clearly see a blonde girl and a boy with spiky hair seated inside. Her teeth were grinding as she focused on the pair. Despite the distance, she could practically hear the flirting tones passing his ears. She could feel it in her bones and in the sick, acidic warmth spreading through her chest. A voice from behind caught her attention.

"Myuri-nee" It was the voice of a boy. "You are going to ruin your gums like that . . . "

Abandoning her post, she turned to regard the shoddy duo behind her. Twin boys in nondescript clothes stood slightly further back in the room. They appeared identical save for an inch difference in height and seemed to be of middle school age. These boys shared the girl's eyes.

They were her younger brothers, Haibu and Tsukyou, and she was beginning to regret bringing them . . .

"This really seems like a misappropriation of group resources . . . ." The boy on the left muttered.

"If I want your opinion, Tsukyou" She growled as she turned back to the window. "I'll ask for it."

The other boy (Haibu obviously) spoke up. "Speaking of group resources, what's with the headband?"

"It's insurance." She replied over her shoulder. "I had to pull rank on the boys in the armory to take it out."

"What does it do?"

"You'll see what it does if it works."

She focused on the pair in the tea shop again and twitched as she watched the blonde girl brush some cake off the boy's lips and eat it. She shook briefly before controlling herself.

"What does she have that I don't?" She grumbled, seemingly to herself.

Unfortunately, she was not alone. Tsukyou chimed in.

"Ah, where to start . . . large breasts?"

Myuri twitched, but said nothing.

"Long blonde hair straight off an angel?" Haibu added.

Tsukyou continued. "Level five powers?"

"A ton of money and enormous social opportunities?"

The girl's knuckles were going white as she gripped her binoculars. The boys kept right on going . . .

"Unparalleled feminine grace?"

"Did we mention large breasts?"

"We did, but it bares repeat– WAHH!"

The brothers ducked as a pair of binoculars sailed past their heads and clattered on the ground behind them. They grinned as their sister began to shout.

"I wasn't asking you two!"

Haibu waved dismissively at his sister. "That doesn't change the fact that we're here for no good reason."

Tsukyou nodded "The number five is instrumental to our current plans . . . ."

The brothers fell silent when their sister's fist hit the wall. She spoke with icy calm.

"Just because she is under contract, that doesn't mean we can let our guard down when she is involved."

She placed her palms on the window sill and glared once again across the street. She grumbled over her shoulder.

"How do we know we can trust her with the Hero?"

In stereo, a pair of familiar voices responded in an unfamiliar way.

"_You could always just ask me~"_

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It had taken a few minutes, but the scene inside the tea shop eventually calmed down. The arrival of cake had nothing to do with it . . . .

Touma noticed that the Queen seemed to be staring off into space casting a sideways glance out the front window of the shop. He waved his hand in front of her face.

"Is something wrong, Shokuhou-san?"

The Queen flinched to attention and smiled brightly at the boy. "I just thought I saw a bug. And call me Mi-chan, Touma-chan~"

"I . . . can't . . . " Touma went pale as he focused his attention on the cake in front of him. "I just can't . . ."

The Queen pouted and let out a disappointed sigh. So difficult . . . .

"You know, Touma-chan . . . " Misaki started, bringing out her best sad puppy face. "I really do want to be your friend."

" . . . " Touma turned his head away, feeling uncomfortable. After a moment he finally responded. "Sorry, Shoku– Mi-chan."

Misaki's face lit up at those words. With a brilliant smile crossing her face, her voice began to bubble again as she cheered. "That's the way! Awesome! Say it again, Touma-chan~"

" . . . Once was enough for today."

"Touma-chan~ Always playing the hard to get ability . . . " Misaki brushed a finger past her lips. "Honestly, I kinda like it~"

The boy suddenly displayed new found interest in the slice of cake in front of him. The Queen continued.

"Now that I think of it, you never did tell me why you ran off on me the other day." She leaned forward resting her chin on her hands. "I would love for you to fill in the blanks~"

Touma waved his hand. "There's not much to tell, really."

"I'm all ears~"

"Basically my friend trapped me in School garden so that he could take out the people behind this project."

"Project?"

"It was causing all those riots. Beetle-san and I had to fight together to prevent the little girl at the center of it all from being killed. That's why I ran off."

He was fighting to save a little girl? Misaki felt strangely touched by his valor. She buried the redness of her cheeks in her hands and send him a sweet smile.

"So noble~ You have the most wonderful big brother ability . . . " Her smile then shifted to another, far less welcome, one . . . . "Or maybe you're just a raging lolicon. That would explain a few things~"

"**OI!**"

"Just kidding, Touma-chan." The Queen giggled, very pleased by the reaction. "I know you prefer a girl with some bust ability~"

Touma groaned as his forehead met his hands. He muttered out a weak response.

"Why can't we just eat cake like normal people?"

The Queen practically sang out in amusement.

"I'm not hearing a denial ability, Touma-chan~"

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"_You could always just ask me~"_

Myuri slowly turned and confirmed what she had suspected.

"So you are the slippery fish in this goldfish bowl~" The teasing, cutesy tone sounded greatly misplaced coming out of her brothers. They continued.

"Using your spying ability on your allies. How crudely Western of you~"

Myuri was unperturbed and intoned to the intruder. "They said you were bright . . ."

They returned. "Had stars in your eyes. They said you were bright . . ."

"Had only ideas in your head."

"Under the Wheel . . . " As one, the boys brought their right hands to their cheeks. "My, what nostalgia ability~"

"Why are you here, Five?"

"I could ask you the same thing~" The boys posed with their eyes framed in a 'v'. "It looks like strapping a remote to my thigh was a good idea after all~ Even if Touma-chan didn't take the bait . . ."

Myuri clenched her fists and took a step forward. The boys put their hands in front of their faces in mock-terror.

"Jealous girls are so scary~"

The girl began to growl in response to the level five's taunting.

"My, my~ I wonder what my prince would think . . . " The boys laid a finger beside their chins in a thoughtful pose. "If he knew he had a little stalk–URK!"

Tsukyou, the unlucky brother on the left had received a full power roundhouse kick to the head and toppled to the ground as his sister retracted her foot. A look of genuine terror crept over the features of the other possessed boy. The girl's voice was cold as she addressed the puppet master.

"_If you thought I wouldn't kick my own brothers in the head, you were wrong."_

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Touma was becoming concerned. Just a moment ago, Misaki flinched and held her head in a daze. He tried to get the Queen's attention.

"Sho– Mi-chan? Are you alright? Do you need a doctor?"

The Queen's head snapped to attention and she quickly shook it, trying to reassure the boy.

"No, no! I'm fine. Just an unexpected feedback ability~"

Touma tilted his head in confusion while Misaki scrambled to regain her composure. He finally went back to eating his cake. _Man_, the servings here were _generous_ . . . .

"Touma-chan . . . "

The boy raised his head. "Yes?"

"You really are an amazing catch . . . "

"?" Touma didn't know what she was on about.

"If the sea has taught us anything . . . " The Queen hesitated. ". . . It's that the most valuable catch is always the first to disappear."

Touma was having a hard time comprehending what the Queen was telling him.

"Are you saying I'm a really big tuna?"

Misaki burst into a fit of giggles, the dramatic atmosphere very much shattered. She finally calmed down enough to continue.

"I mean, we don't always do things for the best reasons, even when it seems like it at first."

"I don't understand . . . ."

"Sometimes, the most painful illusion to shatter is the one that drives us to be who we think we need to be."

Touma went pale. The Queen only smiled sadly.

"Please take care of yourself. It hurts to see you in pain."

"I only do–"

The Queen waved off his response. "Yes, I know. Touma-chan will be Touma-chan. Now lets finish this cake, my curfew's coming up~"

"A-ah, right!" The boy began to tear into the rest of his cake.

"Don't choke now~" Misaki giggled. "We still have an hour."

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"_If you thought I wouldn't kick my own brothers in the head, you were wrong."_

The boy took a step back as the girl returned to a neutral position and continued in a cheerfully casual way.

"It tends to happen each and every Christmas and Valentines." Myuri gave a cold smile. "I'm surprised you didn't pick up that little memory on the way in, Five."

The controlled boy seemed to have a sheepish look. "Ah, that would explain all the gaps in these boys' memories . . . ."

"They never get anything they don't ask for in the first place . . . ."

The boy raised an eyebrow as his puppeteer regarded her "ally" and tilted his face to the side. "You seem to be resisting my power quite well, slipping ever out of my grasp."

"An accessory we liberated from the Kihara family." Myuri pointed to her forehead. "Like it? It's dark matter from the old number two."

"And you don't see the danger in that at all . . . ?" The girl behind the boy's eyes smiled, purely patronizing. "I would love a hint as to how it works~"

Myuri crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "I believe you'll forgive me if I keep this confidential . . . ."

"Rats~" The boy pouted. "She's smarter than I would have guessed . . . ."

"You may be instrumental to our current plans, but don't get too comfortable." The girl stepped up to her possessed brother and stared hard into his starry eyes. "We know you have been withholding information about the identity and whereabouts of the Hero for some time now."

The boy grinned.

"Just know this, Five. You may be under contract with us . . . " She stroked the cheek of the girl through her brother's. " . . . but the Hero belongs to _us_, not you."

"So scary~" The boy leaned in. "But if it's jealousy we're talking about . . . "

Myuri clenched her fists and butted her forehead against the boy. The boy continued.

"Then I'm not the person you should be the most worried about~"

With that Haibu collapsed in a heap, the Queen relinquishing her hold. The girl narrowed her eyes as she regarded the two unconscious boys. She pulls out her cellphone and dials.

"Ikari-sempai?" She begins.

"_I believe we may have an issue here."_

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"Oh, Touma-chan~"

The boy in question was just finishing his cake. "Yes?"

"I have a request~" The Queen fixed him with a smile that sent shivers down Touma's spine.

" . . . What kind of request?"

"Well . . . " She reached over and stroked his hand and grinned as he flinched. "You know how you were rather late getting here . . . ?"

Touma shifted in discomfort. "Sorry . . . I was forced to cook for the equivalent of 18 people before I could leave the dorm . . . ."

"Due to that, I will be late for curfew tonight."

"I thought you said we had an hour?!" Touma started to flail about in panic.

"Oh, I was having so much fun, I forgot that we're having early inspections tonight~"

"WHAAA?!"

"So it's up to you to take responsibility~"

Touma shuddered, feeling an icy dread fall over him. "I _hate_ it when girls say that to me . . . Stupid Luck!"

"Now, now~ You don't have to start panicking yet . . . ."

The boy looked up at the Queen.

"We'll have plenty of time . . . " The Queen made a cutesy pose in her seat and gave the boy a terrifying wink. "If you carry me like a princess the entire way back to my dorm~"

Touma did not react. He raised his hand. "Can I start panicking _now_?"

"Absolutely~"

Touma took a deep breath and threw his head back. With all his might he bellowed to the heavens.

"**SUCH MISFORTUNE ! ! !**"

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Mikoto was nearly livid. That idiot was letting himself be led out of the shop by the Queen's hold on his wrist. Beside her, Kuroko was shaking, but Mikoto couldn't pull her eyes away from the screen. Standing behind them, Kongou hid a deep scowl behind her fan.

As the spied upon duo left the shop, the sound of Misaki's clear laughter drifted into the alley where the girls were hiding. Uiharu felt uncomfortable. The tension radiating off of her friends was almost painful and she hoped that it would end soon.

She got her wish.

Without warning, Misaki stopped and spun while holding Touma's arm. With his arm now twined around her, she jumped up and forced him to catch her. As Touma held her like a princess, she smiled and stroked his face with a gloved hand.

It then hit the fan . . .

Touma ducked as a lightning bolt, set of nails, and a flying garbage can struck the wall over his head. He looked into the alley where the attacks originated and shuddered, turning white enough to star in a bleach commercial.

" . . . Such Misfortune . . . ."

In the alley stood three girls he recognized, all with expressions that wouldn't have looked out of place on a zombie at an all-you-can-eat brain buffet. Misaki on the other hand was smiling as bright as a star.

"Oh, my~" She bubbled, nuzzling Touma's neck. "It looks like its time for you to save the princess from the dragons~"

Touma didn't wait for any further comments. He took off running with all the speed he could muster from his weekly delinquent marathon training. With the long hair of the blonde level five in his arms trailing behind him, he yelled his discontent to the heavens.

"STUPID LUCK!"

The three girls took off running after the pair, each one putting in their two cents.

Mikoto was sparking and throwing random lightning in the direction of the fleeing pair.

"How dare you try to seduce that idiot, you Zeppelin-chested Svengali!"

Kongou ran along side Mikoto and waved her fan in the direction of the boy.

"Kamijo-san, you have a mani-pedi appointment in an hour!" She shouted after the teen, who for some reason _started running even faster_ than before. "You are so close to becoming Misaka-san's ideal mate! Don't try to fight it!"

Mikoto turned her blazingly red face to the wind esper running beside her. "Kongou-san, you and I are going to have a _long_ talk after this . . . ."

Kuroko seemed to be taking things the worst, though. From her glowing red eyes to the boiling black aura engulfing her she was a nightmare made flesh. The wail of a banshee erupted from her delicate girlish lips.

"**KAMIJO-SAN!** How _dare_ you cheat on– I mean behave lewdly in public with a middle school girl!"

Upon hearing those words _everyone_ stopped and turned to the teleporter with slack jaws and wide eyes. The Queen raised an eyebrow.

"You do know how laughable that sounds coming out of you, right?" She smiled. "Hypocrite~"

With the shock worn off, the group resumed their chase. The voice of the unlucky boy could be heard trailing off into the distance.

"Such Misfortune!"

Uiharu scratched her head as she watched her friends disappearing. A blossom of white erupted from the clip on her skirt and coalesced into the shape of a pure white boy standing beside her. She turned to him.

"Should we do something to help him, Beetle-san?"

The white boy shook his head. "I'm sure that would just spoil his fun."

"Really?"

"It _would_ explain a lot . . . " The white boy smiled. "Since we're here, why don't we have some cake?"

"That sounds great!" Uiharu clapped her hands together in joy and ran across the street into the shop.

With a smile, the white boy slowly followed her inside.

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Cake! Delicious cake!

Uiharu was glowing in joy as she brought each bite to her lips. She murmured in pleasure as each sliver passed them. This was well worth standing in an alley for an hour . . . .

"Are you satisfied, Uiharu-san?" The white boy sitting across from her asked.

Uiharu nodded and the boy chuckled to himself. Uiharu was confused.

"Is something wrong, Beetle-san?"

The white boy smiled. "I just remembered that we became friends one week ago today."

"Wow, you're right!" Uiharu smiled brightly. "It feels like months . . . "

The boy laughed. "It does doesn't it?"

Uiharu suddenly noticed the sad look in the boy's eyes "Beetle-san, are you alright?"

He shook his head. "I'll be fine. I was just thinking how lucky I am to be your friend. I really don't deserve it."

"Don't say that, Beetle-san!"

"It's true, though. I was a terrible person before." His eyes grew distant. "There isn't a day that I don't worry that I may end up becoming him again in the future . . . "

Uiharu put down her fork and looked the boy firmly in the eyes. "You won't Beetle-san."

Kakine's eyes fell to the table unable to meet her stare. The girl continued.

"And even if you do, your friends won't rest until we find a way to bring you back home to us."

The level five blinked and rubbed the corner of his eye before smiling and raising his head to look at the girl once more.

" . . . Then I'll be waiting for you."

Uiharu then smiled again and picked up her fork for another bite. "Let's talk about something else, rather than focusing on something that may never happen."

"That sounds good." the boy agreed and placed his hand on his chin, resting his elbow on the table. "I'm afraid that our little project isn't moving forward like it should be . . . ."

"What do you mean, Beetle-san?" The flower-haired girl put up her fingers in a 'v'. "It's only a matter of time!"

The boy canted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think Misaka and Shirai are a little too focused on our boy?"

"Oh that?" Uiharu furrowed her brow. "That shouldn't be a problem. Misaka-san only thinks of Kamijo-san as a rival and Shirai-san is just finally starting to see how nice Kamijo-san is."

"Uh, Uiharu-san . . . ."

"And besides!" Uiharu placed her folded hands beside her face and squealed. "Misaka-san and Shirai-san look so cute together! Don't you think so?"

Kakine blinked in surprise while his companion began to eat again. After a moment he began to smile.

"Uiharu . . . " He slipped his hand over hers and held it there for a moment.

"_Please, never change . . . ."_

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In a small dimly lit room, located within the basement of a certain bakery, an unconscious young man was hooked up to a number of strange medical machines. With each passing moment, their displays became increasingly erratic . . . .

The AIM field resonance counter in particular was worrying, as it was rapidly approaching triple digits. A rapid beeping accompanied the changes, unbroken pulses interjecting into the bleak atmosphere of the room.

The tall form of the number six entered and walked with intent purpose to the bed. He frowned slightly as he looked over the other boy and crouched down next to the bed. Six extended his hand with a smooth and practiced gesture, laying it on the other boy's forehead.

A slight shimmering engulfed that hand, but Six paid it no mind. He was watching the monitors as the AIM counter slipped down to nearly zero. The other machines showed vital signs stabilizing into more normal ranges. Satisfied, he removed his hand and spoke quietly to the other boy.

"We will find a way . . ."

_Silence._

"We'll put things back to the way they were before." He smiled to himself. "We can even go shota-watching like we used to . . . ."

_Silence._

"That day will be the one I can finally beg for your forgiveness."

The number six stood up and began to walk away. In parting, he murmured over his shoulder.

"Until then, I hope you sleep well . . . " He reached out his hand and switched off the lights on his way out the door.

" _. . . Mairo-kun."_

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**Author's Notes:**

And there you have it!

For Reference:

The scene with Touma, Sogiita, and Yabumi is a playful reference to an episode (#4) of Haiyore Nyarko-san.

The meeting between Kakine and Number Six (and the False Six) references the cult British TV series 'The Prisoner' staring Patrick McGoohan as Number Six.

Sogiita quotes 'Only us' by Peter Gabriel

Six refers to the Queen as 'Aneki' (elder sister) while the Queen refers to Six as 'Nini-ue' (elder brother; literally: Brother Above). This may be important later . . . .

Myuri and Misaki Quote the song 'Under the Wheel' by Split Enz to each other.

Myuri's brothers' names mean 'fetishism' when put together . . .

Myuri is apparently left-footed. And a little badass . . .

Saten's dream isn't quite as steamy as she was making it sound the day before. The girls will be disappointed . . . .

-Interesting fact: Saten's dream is partially based on two dreams I myself had in the past two weeks. One included the demon with burning eyes (and also a flying Dalek. No kidding!). The second included stars falling from the sky and landing around me.

Since Kakine is meeting Mugino on Friday, that means the next meeting will be Accelerator(!).

Writing Him K+ will be fun . . . .

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Gundamxmeister: Good guess and not surprising. Misaki's witch is indeed Kumokawa, but the General is not . . .

To Lazy to login: The Iron Maiden reference was probably subconscious. My friend is a big fan and used to play their albums constantly. That's probably where it came from . . .

Ralf07: Number Six's power is the analog of a magic side phenomenon. He knows there are 'two sides' but does not understand what magic is. It was explained as the side of Knowledge (science) versus Superstition (Ignorance). He believes it is just another form of esper power similar to the gemstones. Due to the heavy influence of the Magic side in NT 8 (and 9 I assume), the magic side will not be featured in my story beyond brief cameos.

Dimak: Yes I did. Due to his comical obsessions, proximity to Touma, mysterious knowledge, and the fact that he is suspiciously 'absent' from both side's conflicts. Six's power is something of an AIM vortex. Instead of emitting AIM, He absorbs AIM (his own and others) and it fuels his body to do the things he did in this chapter. Because of this, he tests as a level zero in the system scans. He is able to do this to other people as well, by touching them. Usually, this is for healing purposes.

Glad Myuri is growing on you. She will continue to feature when Middle line is needed.

You are also correct about this fic. 'He will surely save' will "end" on chapter 9 and then split into two sequel stories. One will have short, more frequent, chapters and will follow the actions of the Level fives. The other will feature longer, less frequent, chapters that follow Saten and the Middle Line. Both covering the time period one week after the current story.

Arcane Valor & LoveMadness: Glad to hear the updates are anticipated! I'll write like the wind!

Special Thanks to my reviewers (! ! !): Jericho Cross; Ralf07; drunkenlullabies90; Encendrel; Dimak; A Certain Unfortunate Guy; Soul Titan; The End Game; Lobster; Lothar; The Darkbringer; Guest; To Lazy to Login; gundamxmeister; LoveMadness; Arcane Valor

THANK YOU ALL! ! !

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Until Next time,

Thank you for reading!

Now lets get writing!


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